A Baby Changes Everything
by ballistics belle
Summary: Sequel to Aloha Kakou. slash. Steve and Danny finally have a family of their own but the happily ever after is never quite as easy as it seems in the fairy tales.
1. It Won't Be Like This For Long

**A/N: **So here we are in part three of this little series and Steve and Danny are in for the roller coaster ride known as parenthood with little Makayla. This story will focus mostly on those three though the others will make appearances throughout. I have some ideas on what I'm going to do but I'm always open to suggestions about things they might experience especially because I am not a parent myself yet. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Only ones I can take credit for are Maggie, Casey and Makayla.

_He didn't have to wake up, he'd been up all night lying there in bed listening to his newborn baby cry. He makes a pot of coffee, splashes water on his face, his wife gives him a kiss and says its gonna be okay. It won't be like this for long. One day we'll look back laughing at the week we brought her home. This phase is gonna fly by so baby just hold on cause it won't be like this for long.—Darius Rucker, It Won't Be Like This For Long_

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><p>Danny was exhausted. It had settled down deep into his joints and he wanted to burrow down deeper into the mattress and throw the covers over his head to block out the rest of the world. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten a full night's sleep. It hadn't been because of nightmares which had been the cause of his sleepless nights for years now. No, the source of Danny's exhaustion was currently screaming her head off down the hall with no signs of stopping anytime soon.<p>

"It's your turn." Steve mumbled from his position on the other side of the bed. Danny groaned into his pillow.

"Bottle?" He asked, still not making any attempt to move.

"Nope. Gave her a bottle, burped and changed her when I got up at 4am." Steve replied. Danny rolled over to look at the clock that read 4:37am.

"You sure you completely burped her?" He questioned. They should have had at least another hour of peace before their daughter disturbed them again.

"Considering the fact that she spit back up half the bottle I'm going to say yes, I completely burped her." Steve replied with a bit of an edge.

Danny didn't blame him. Steve was just as tired as he was. With a sigh, Danny threw the cover off and tossed his legs over the side of the bed where he scrubbed at his face before finally getting out of bed and heading down the hall to the nursery.

Makayla's face was bright red and soaking wet from the tears that were rapidly rolling down her face as she screamed for attention. Danny quickly gathered his infant daughter into his arms and placed her against his shoulder as he began to bounce her slightly, patting her back just in case there was a gas bubble that Steve had missed.

"What's the matter, Kayla? Huh? Why are you so upset you have to keep Danno and Daddy up all night?" Danny muttered to the baby as he kissed the top of her head. Makayla continued to cry but at a lower intensity level. "I'm not used to this baby girl. I'd gotten spoil having a child that slept through the night."

During the first few weeks, Makayla had tricked her fathers into believing that she was going to be one of those good babies slept relatively well only getting up once or twice a night. Danny's mother had been kind enough to stay until Makayla was old enough to be placed in daycare and on the rare night that she was up more than once, Maggie would take care of her so that they could get some sleep.

As soon as Maggie had gone back to New Jersey, Makayla's sweet temperament changed as the colic set in. Now she was up at least three times a night if not more for 45 minutes or better each time. Steve and Danny rotated shifts with her so that neither one got stuck with the burden which had only led to both of them feeling tired and irritable. Danny was considering asked the Governor to nominate Chin and Kono for sainthood for having to put up with the both of them at work. They had offered to watch Makayla for a night to give him and Steve a break and if they didn't get some sleep soon, Danny was going to have to take them up on their offer.

Makayla's screams had lessened to just a miserable sob now so Danny moved her off of his shoulder and set her down on the changing table so he could check her diaper which he assumed was wet again after her last feeding feeling confident that it wasn't a burping she needed. By the time she was changed and dried again, Makayla had pretty much cried herself back to sleep. Danny carefully carried her back to the crib and set her back down on the soft pink sheets before carefully leaving the room and backing down the hall to the bedroom where Steve was sprawled halfway across the bed, completely oblivious of his partner's return. Danny looked at the bedside clock and sighed as he crawled back under the covers.

5:02am. Fifty-eight minutes to sleep before the alarm went off and they started the whole process over again.

* * *

><p>"Steven! This is not what I meant!" Danny hollered as he clutched at the passenger side door as he was almost positive Steve literally took a corner on two wheels.<p>

"What? You said you needed something to wake you up. You're awake now." Steve shrugged as he pushed harder on the gas pedal.

"Only you, Rambo, would think the adrenaline rush that comes with fearing for your life is a good way to wake up. Personally, I would have just preferred another cup of coffee." Danny complained. Steve just rolled his eyes and sped the Camaro closer to their suspect.

Danny had jinxed them as soon as they had gotten in the car by making a comment about this being a simple pick a suspect so they could let him stew overnight in a jail cell before interrogating him in the morning. They would have plenty of time to get Makayla and stop at the store to pick up something for dinner before the Devils-Rangers game on that night. That was an hour ago and they were currently half way across the island in a chase that didn't seem to be ending anytime soon. Steve was about to ask Danny if this was how they defined a simple pick up in Jersey when his phone interrupted him.

"McGarrett." He answered, ignoring Danny's protests to watch the road.

"Mr. McGarrett? This is Lani with the daycare?" The female voice on the other line announced, slightly frightened by Steve's harsh tone.

"Is something wrong with Makayla?" He asked, tone changing from angry to worried. Danny's head whipped around towards him at the mention of their daughter.

"No, Makayla's fine." She assured. "It's just that…well it's 5:15pm. Now we don't close until 6pm but…all the other children have already been picked up by their parents. We have no problem keeping her here but she has to be picked up by 6pm." Lani explained. Steve looked at the clock and groaned. There was no way they were going to make it there in time.

"Uh, would it be alright if we sent someone to pick Makayla up? We're kind of tied up at work right now." He said.

"That's not a problem. Just let us know who you'll be sending so we can make sure it's the right person."

"Her name is Rachel Edwards." Steve stated, not missing the death glare that Danny was sending him.

"Alright Mr. McGarrett, we'll be expecting her."

"Thank you Lani." Steve said before disconnecting.

"Steven, why did you tell the daycare that Rachel would pick Makayla up?" Danny asked forcing himself to be calm.

"Would you rather I have picked Kamekona?" Steve replied. "We're never going to make it there in time even if we stop chasing this idiot right now, with rush hour traffic there is no way we make it to the daycare by 6pm so I told them that Rachel would go get her figuring she could watch her until we can go get her." He explained. "Besides, Rachel owes you for all the times she's asked you to pick Grace up with no warning or notice. Now make the call while I try to stop this jerk."

* * *

><p>It was almost 8:30pm by the time Steve and Danny were able to pick Makayla up from Rachel's who had been surprisingly understanding. Grace had been thrilled to get to spend some extra time with her baby sister and Rachel seemed to enjoy taking care of a baby again.<p>

"I fed her the bottle that was in the bag and she went down like a little angel." Rachel cooed as she looked down at Makayla in her car seat.

"Yeah, so now she can be a little devil the rest of the night." Danny muttered under his breath. "Thank you Rachel, we owe you one."

"It's not a problem, Danny. We enjoyed having her around….but you know if you had a nanny you wouldn't have to worry about your job interfering with the daycare schedule or vice versa." Rachel pointed out.

"What are you trying to say?" Danny asked, slightly defensive.

"Nothing." Rachel said, hands out in front of her. "It's just a suggestion. Good night, Daniel…Steve. Good night Makayla."

"Goodnight Rachel." Steve replied as Danny took off with Makayla towards the car. "She has a point, ya know." Steve stated as he pulled out of the driveway.

"About what?"

"Hiring a nanny."

"Steven-"

"No Danny hear me out." Steve said, stopping Danny before his ranting could start. "A nanny would be far more practical for us. We don't work a traditional 9-5 job. There are going to be times when we have to work odd hours and we can't always rely on our friends to help us out. A nanny could work whatever hours we need to them too…plus it would make me feel a little better to have Makayla at the house where she's a little more protected." Steve explained with a shrug."You have to admit it's completely practical."

"What about social interaction? Children her age need to be around other children to learn social interaction not to mention build up their immune systems." Danny countered weakly.

"What are you a child psychologist now? Danny I'm not saying we need to put her in a plastic bubble. I'm saying that hiring a nanny makes more sense for our situation than daycare. And it's not like she'll be sheltered away from people. I'm sure the nanny would take her out to places like the park where she can interact with other children and she'll eventually go to school where she'll be around other children." Steve argued back. Danny crossed his arms over his chest.

"Alright fine, you win. You have made a perfectly rational and reasonable argument that I cannot argue with. We'll get a nanny." Danny conceded.

"We can set up interviews this weekend." Steve smiled brightly. Danny shook his head.

"Why do I have images of Mary Poppins riding in on her umbrella?" He wondered aloud.

"That was a cartoon." Steve replied.

"On this island, you can never be too sure."


	2. The Perfect Nanny

**A/n: **wow! I'm glad to see you're all so excited for this story. As a reward, here's another chapter.

_If you want this prime position, have a cherry position, rosy cheeks, no warts! Play games all sorts. You must be kind you must be witty, very sweet and fairly pretty. Take us on outings give us treats, sing song, bring sweets.—Mary Poppins, The Perfect Nanny_

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><p>"Three down, three to go." Danny sighed as he closed the front door and walked back over to the couch where he flopped back down next to Steve. "You know I'm starting to think that you took advantage of my decreased mental state when you talked me into this."<p>

"I did not take advantage of you. You were mentally competent when you agreed to hire a nanny." Steve replied with a frown.

"Well, it sounded like a good idea at the time." Danny said, running a hand over his face.

He and Steve were currently spending their Saturday afternoon interview nannies for Makayla and it was a grueling process. So far all they had were big swings and misses. The first woman was almost seventy years old and had baulked slightly when she realized that Steve and Danny were a couple. The second was a girl who looked barely out of high school and was clearly looking for a payday and the last one was a little too high energy for either of them to stand.

"It is a good idea. We just have to sort through our options till we find the right one." Steve stated.

"In other words, weed through the crazies until we find someone who's at least somewhat sane and won't make us or our daughter miserable." Danny corrected. Steve just rolled his eyes.

"Check this one out." He demanded as he tossed a piece of paper into Danny's lap. "She's next and she seems promising."

"Oh really? And why is that?" Danny asked, looking at his partner instead of the paper.

"She has her degree in early childhood education." Steve stated. "Plus she comes highly recommended by the other families she's worked with." Interested now, Danny picked up the piece of paper and began to read.

"Vivian Walkum, graduated from Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia….she's an Aussie?" Danny turned towards Steve as he read aloud.

"Does that bother you?" Steve asked.

"No, but it's interesting." Danny replied as he continued reading. "She doesn't sound any worse than the previous three."

"Well that's good because she's here." Steve announced as he went to open the door.

Danny tried not to judge people based upon first impressions (lord knows his first impression of Steve wasn't exactly the right one) but he did believe that they mattered in the overall assessment of a person. So as Steve when to answer the door, Danny looked down at his watch and saw that Vivian was right on time-not too early and not too late. When Steve led her into the room, Danny took in her overall appearance. Her long dark brown hair was down and straight, pulled slightly away from her face with a barrette. She wore a light blue polo shirt with a white linen skirt that fell respectably at the knees. Her make-up was light and she smiled pleasantly as she shook his hand. All in all, Danny was impressed.

"It's nice to meet you Vivian." Danny greeted as they all sat down. "I'm Danny and that sleeping beauty over there is our daughter Makayla." He said, gesturing towards the swing where Makayla was currently passed out in.

"Pleasure's all mine. And please, call me Vivie, everyone does." She stated. Her accent was distinctly Australian but was refined and pleasant sounding to the ear.

"Alright Vivie, tell us a little about yourself." Steve suggested.

"Well, I was born and raised in Melbourne. It's also where I went to school. I graduated from Victoria University with a degree in early childhood education." She started.

"Why did you decide to leave Melbourne?" Danny asked.

"I moved here to the States just after I finished school. I wanted to travel for a bit but its not cheap so I took a job as a nanny so I could save up for my trips. I thought it would be a temporary thing but once I got started I was hooked. I love working with children and watching them grow and develop. The first family I worked for had two boys who I just adored and then when they grew up, I moved out here with my second family who also had a son that just melted your heart. He's twelve now and doesn't need a nanny but he still considers me a friend which makes me so happy." Vivie explained.

They could see the true joy and love that she had for the children she worked with as she talked about them. Danny looked over at Steve and could tell that he was impressed with Vivie—and Danny was too. But there were a few things they needed to know first.

"What are your feelings about same sex couples?" He threw out there. She smiled.

"I think love is a beautiful thing and if you find the one who you can't imagine living your life without well then what difference does it make what society and other people think about it." She answered honestly.

"She's good." Steve whispered as he leaned in closer to Danny.

"She's very good." Danny replied.

"I hope it's not too rude or bold of me to ask, but is her mother in the picture?" Vivie asked. Steve and Danny looked at each other before Danny answered.

"Her mother is a part of her life, to what extent we're still trying to figure out." He replied diplomatically.

Things had been a little odd with Casey since she left the island. She had claimed that she wanted to have an active relationship with them and Makayla and wanted to know what was going on but every time that Danny had tried to call her, the phone went to voicemail and she would respond a few days later in a text message apologizing for missing the call. She'd sent a few emails letting them know she was settled into her apartment in Chicago and that she had gotten a job working as a bartender at a restaurant just down the street from her place. She swore everything was fine and she was just busy but Danny still worried.

"I only ask out of curiosity. I figured Makayla was adopted but I wasn't sure and didn't want to assume in case it was something else-"

"Like a child from a previous marriage?" Danny suggested. Vivie nodded. "That would actually be my daughter, Grace. Her mother and I are divorced. She's almost nine and we have her every other weekend during the school year and two weeks out of the month in the summer. She would occasionally be part of your responsibilities." Danny explained.

"The more the merrier." Vivie smiled.

"I have a question." Steve said, jumping into the conversation.

"Yes Steven?"

"Have you ever taken any kind of self defense classes?" He asked..

"Oh god." Danny rolled his eyes.

"It's just that, well Danny and I don't exactly have normal jobs. We're part of the Governor's special task force to try to reduce the amount of major crimes on the island. With that responsibility comes a certain amount of enemies…." Steve explained.

"Great Steve, scare the woman away, why don't you? What my partner is trying to say here is that our taskforce attracts a certain amount of attention that can sometimes cause a problem. What we want to know is, if such occasion should arise—and it's highly unlikely that it would—would you be able to protect Makayla and yourself from danger?" Danny corrected in a more eloquent way.

"Well, I've never taken any formal classes per say but I had a couple brothers growing up who taught me how to take care of myself and my daddy taught me how to shoot when I was younger." Vivie stated, seeming more assumed than frightened by the threat of possible danger.

"That's fantastic." Steve replied with a smile. "Well Vivie, we have a few other people to interview but we'll be in touch with you by the end of the day." He said, standing.

"Wonderful." She said, smiling and shaking his and Danny's hand again before Steve led her out.

"I think she's the one." Steve stated as he closed the door. "She seems perfect."

"I would have to agree with you." Danny stated.

"So? Do we even bother with the rest of the interviews?"

"The cop in me says to pursue every lead just to be sure." Danny said.

"But?" Steve asked, sensing there was more.

"But the father in me says that I think we just found our nanny." He smiled at Steve who in return gave him a look that made all the hassle of today worthwhile. Steve walked over to the swing and looked down at the baby who was just starting to wake up.

"What do you think Mak? You want Vivie to be your new nanny?" Makayla blinked up at him with bleary blue eyes but made no fuss. "I'll take that as a yes." He said, picking Makayla up and resting her in the crook of his arm. As he walked past towards the stairs, Danny could have sworn he could hear Steve softly humming something that sounded suspiciously like 'A Spoon Full of Sugar' as he took Makayla upstairs to be changed.


	3. Something Good

**A/n; **I don't know about this one. It's kind of filler I guess. I decided to write Rachel's pregnancy in but under different circumstances obviously. I'll admit I'm kind of stuck. I don't have a baby so I don't know all the good things for them to be experiencing. Suggestions are greatly appreciated!

_I believe that the only people who should be around a child and raising a child are people who absolutely one hundred percent love that child.—Angelina Jolie_

"What are you doing?" Danny asked as he walked into the living room to find Steve sprawled out on his back on the floor with Makayla raised high above his head as he made faces at her.

"I'm trying to get her to smile." Steve replied, keeping his focus on their daughter.

"You're going to make her throw up." Danny commented as Steve began to move her around.

"She's not going to throw up." Steve said confidently as he continued his motions.

"Famous last words." Danny muttered as he sat down on the couch behind them. "You do realize that she's got a couple more months before she smiles on a regular basis, right?"

"Smiling is an emerging skill for a two month old, which means that half the babies her age are able to do it." Steve stated.

"You've been reading the baby books again haven't you?" Danny asked with a frown. Steve had gotten a bit obsessive with 'fact-finding' as he had putting before Makayla was born and Danny had to eventually take the books away because he was making them all crazy. Apparently he had found them again. "Steve, all babies develop at different rates. So she isn't smiling yet, it will come." He reassured.

"I know but there are certain milestones that are supposed to be hit at certain times-"

"And so far the doctor has said she's hit every one of them. She's perfect." Danny said as he reached out to take the baby from his partner's hands. He nuzzled his nose against Makayla's as he brought her closer to him.

"That's what has me worried." Steve muttered under his breath as he sat up.

"Hey, I thought we talked about worrying about 'what ifs'? Nothing is wrong with Makayla, Steven and we're going to make sure it stays that way." Danny declared. Steve still didn't look convinced.

"It's just that…well she was over two weeks earlier-" Steve started.

"Which really isn't that big of a deal by that point in the pregnancy." Danny interjected.

"-And she had a traumatic birth. I'm just worry that something might have happened and we just don't know about it yet. I don't want to be caught off guard if down the road the doctors say there is something wrong." Steve explained.

"So you're what? Preparing for the worst?" Danny asked. Steve shrugged. "You make my head hurt sometimes you know that? There is nothing wrong with Makayla. She is fine. If she wasn't the doctors would have told us something by now. Yes she was a little earlier and had a rough time getting here but she's fine now and will continue to be, do you understand me?" Danny demanded.

"Yeah, I understand." Steve admitted as he pulled himself off the floor and onto the couch next to them.

He just wasn't sure if Danny understood. It was hard for Steve to accept that his life was practically a fairytale now when it had been a living nightmare for so long. After so much disappointment, it was hard to believe that good things could happen to him without them being ruined in someway. And now the stakes were so much higher. If something were to happen to Danny or Makayla or even Grace, Steve's whole world would be shattered and he wasn't sure he could pick up those pieces and put his life back together once again.

"So what did Rachel want?" Steve asked once he was settled in. Danny had left the room earlier with a phone call which he only did when Rachel called. Steve never knew why he did that but figured it probably had something to do with not talking to his ex in front of his current spouse.

"She and Stan had something they wanted to tell me." Danny replied sounding less than enthused. Steve didn't blame him. The last time those two had an announcement, Danny ended up moving having way across the world.

"And?"

"And she's pregnant." Danny stated simply.

"What?" Steve said, slightly surprised.

"Yeah. She's seven weeks along." Danny added with no emotion in his voice which was out of character for him.

"You don't sound happy." Steve commented.

"I didn't know I was supposed to be. It's not my baby." Danny declared as he looked down at Makayla.

"Do you want it to be?" Steve asked boldly. Danny's head whipped around to stare at his partner.

"Why would you even ask me that?" Danny accused.

"I don't know. You're acting all bummed out about it and I'm just trying to figure out if it's because _you _want to be the father of her children." Steve said casually but Danny could see right through it.

"Number one, I'm already the father of one of her children and number two why would I want a baby with _her _when I already have a baby with _you_?" Danny replied as he lifted Makayla up higher into his arms.

"Did you guys ever talk about it?" Steve wondered.

"Yes, Rachel and I had talked about having more children." Danny sighed. "It was one of the many things that we didn't agree on."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted more children and she didn't. She claimed that we couldn't afford it." He stated.

There was also the unstated message that she didn't want to be left a widow with two children if he died in the line of duty and she already resented how much time he spent at work while she was with home with Grace, another child would have made a bad situation worse.

"I'm sorry." Steve said. It all made sense to him now. Danny _was _bummed that it wasn't his baby but for different reasons. He was feeling rejected now. Like he wasn't good enough for Rachel to give him another child but Stan was because he had money.

"Don't be." Danny said, resting his head on Steve's shoulder. "Another baby wouldn't have changed things between her and I." He admitted.

"I know but it still sucks." Steve added as he ran a hand down Makayla's back as Danny sat her on his lap. "But I think we've got a pretty good thing right here with his little one."

"Yes we do." Danny confirmed, smiling slightly at their daughter.

"But there's still something bothering you." Steve added. He could hear it in his partner's tone.

"No…"

"Danny…" Steve pushed.

"…It's the timing." Danny reluctantly admitted.

"The timing?"

"Yeah. She said she's seven weeks along and Makayla is nine weeks old." Danny stated.

"I'm not following." Steve said, not sure where this was going.

"She's been married to the guy for a few years and now she decides to have a baby right after you and I officially adopted Makayla? It feels funny to me." He explained.

"How do you know it was her decision? What if they decided to wait a few years before having kids?" Steve suggested.

"Does Stan seem like the fatherly type to you?" Danny replied.

"Did _I _seem like the fatherly type to you?" Steve countered.

"Babe, you two are not the same. You may be GI Joe on steroids at times but you like kids and understand what it means to be a father. Stan only understands how to open his checkbook." Danny stated.

"GI Joe was in the army." Steve reminded. Danny rolled his eyes. "And how do you know Stan wouldn't be a good father?"

"I've seen him with Grace and the man is clueless. A baby is a completely different story. You can't buy it off with gifts. You have to give it attention and affection." Danny explained.

"Why are you so concerned with your ex wife's new husband's parenting style?" Steve asked, confused.

"It's not Stan or even Rachel I'm worried about." Danny started.

"It's Grace." Steve finished. Danny nodded.

"If this new baby comes in and causes problems for them its going to affect Grace and she's already had to go through her parent's divorce. It's going to give her a distorted view of relationships if she has to see her mother involved in another bad one." Danny pointed out.

"Well at least her father is setting a good example for being in a healthy relationship." Steve smiled.

"Some would argue that point but I think you and I got a good thing going." Danny said, smiling up at Steve as he stole a kiss.


	4. That's What It's All About

**A/N: **I'm so sorry. I totally lost my muse for this story and of course now I find it just in time to go back to school. Ugh, anyways hopefully I can update a little more frequently now. Thanks for sticking with me.

_When they won't go to bed or do what you said or eat their food. And they cry and they fuss and you can't cuss cause she'll say it too. And you're tired and you're numb and you're stressed and you're mad and then she smiles and says 'I love you dad'. That's what it's all about. This is the life I couldn't live without. There's a moment frozen there in time when the reason's all begin to rhyme. Love's a little bigger and you finally start figuring out. That's what it's all about.—Brooks and Dunn, That's What It's All About_

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><p>Steve rubbed his forehead roughly as he looked at the disaster zone currently known as his desk. There were few aspects of his job that he truly disliked and playing the political games was at the top of the list. Governor Jameson had asked (ordered) Steve to compile a file to submit to the State legislature to convince them to continue funding the taskforce. He knew the 5-0 was expensive and at times had a hard time flying under the radar (no thanks to him) but they also provided a valuable service to the State, taking on the cases that HPD couldn't. It was just a matter of making the politicians understand that.<p>

Which was why Steve was still in his office at almost 7pm on a Friday trying to get this file done when he would have much rather been at home with his family. It was their weekend with Grace and Danny had left hours ago to be with the girls. Normally Steve would have left with him but the file was due on the Governor's desk by Monday morning and he knew he'd get nothing done if he took it home. Not to mention the fact that it was against one of Danny's rules. Work consumed enough of their life and he refused to let it take away precious time they did have with their children, so Danny was strict about not bringing work home unless absolutely necessary.

Steve was happy to comply with the rule. Makayla was five months old now and he swore that she changed from the time they left in the morning to when they came home at night. She was starting to transform from the helpless little newborn into a curious infant who was determined to get into everything. He and Danny had already started baby-proofing the house. Makayla wasn't mobile yet but they knew that as soon as she was, they were in big trouble.

Looking over at the picture of his daughter on the corner of his desk, Steve sighed. He knew he was being a bit overdramatic but there was a part of him that was sad to see how big his baby girl had gotten. The more independence she gained, the less she was going to need him and Danny and Steve wasn't quite ready for that yet. His cell phone rang, clearing his head of his thoughts. Steve reached under a pile of papers and saw Danny's face pop up on his screen.

"What's up Danny?" He asked as he answered.

"Are you planning on coming home anytime soon?" Danny replied, sounding a bit frazzled. In the background he could hear Makayla crying and Grace's shouting about something.

"Everything alright?" Steve dared to ask.

"No, everything is not alright because our daughters have been replaced by little demons and they are ganging up on me. Makayla is starting to teeth and Grace is…I don't know what her problem is but she's only serving to make things worse with the baby." Danny informed him, obviously frustrated.

Steve was glad they were having this conversation on the phone because the smile that he was currently sporting would have mostly like gotten him punched if his partner could have seen it. After they had adopted Makayla, Danny had started to refer to Grace as their daughter and it still made Steve smiled every time he heard it. Tucking away his file for the night, Steve stood and began to make his way out of the office. There were more important things that needed his attention at the moment.

"Alright, I'm on my way Danno."

* * *

><p>It was no secret that Makayla was Steve's girl and when she got in one of her moods, he was the only one who could console her. It didn't really bother Danny because Grace had been and still was the same way with him. If anything he saw it as a good thing. Steve had been worried after Makayla was born that she wouldn't connect with him because he wasn't good with kids. Which had been true when they first met. Danny could still remember the elevator incident on their first case but Steve had changed since then (thanks in large part to Grace) and his awkwardness was all but gone.<p>

"_Babies respond to your behavior Steven. If you act confident with her then she'll be comfortable with you." _

Danny had told him when they brought her home and once Steve was convinced he wasn't going to break Makayla, he had become a pro had taking care of her. And right now, Danny would do anything to have his partner's help.

He had left the office around 3pm to pick up Grace and it had become clear though after just a few minutes with Grace in the car that something wasn't right with his oldest daughter. She was upset about something and he had been determined to figure out what it was until he got home and was faced with yet another upset child.

Makayla was starting to teeth. She had already cut one tooth a few weeks ago and she had been nearly inconsolable for days when it happened. Two more were starting to break through now and it looked as if they were going to be in for a long weekend. Danny had known that Steve was planning to stay late that night to finish his report and he hadn't had a problem with it at the time. Dealing with the Governor was one of the things that Danny didn't envy about his partner's job and he had been prepared to deal with the girls on his own. That was before he realized that his sweet babies had been replaced with the devils incarnate. So by seven, Danny finally had to say 'uncle' and call Steve and practically beg him to come home.

When his partner walked through the door twenty minutes later, Danny didn't think he'd ever been so happy to see him. He had been in the kitchen attempting to put together something for dinner but had so far only succeeded in pulling out a random assortment of ingredients that sat forgotten on the counter as he retrieved another frozen ring for Makayla to suck on to try to ease some of her pain while she sobbed miserably on his shoulder. As he closed the freezer door, Danny caught sight of Steve entering the house and he sighed. His backup had finally arrived.

Steve quickly took the baby from Danny's arms and settled her against his chest before he leaned over to give his husband a quick but reassuring kiss.

"Has she been like this all night?" Steve asked as he gently bounced Makayla while trying to coax the frozen ring into her mouth.

"Vivie said she's been like this most of the day. She's got two new teeth coming in." Danny informed.

"Poor Mak." Steve cooed as he kissed the top of his daughter's head. "Where's Gracie?"

"I sent her upstairs." Danny sighed. "Something's got her all worked up and I could only deal with one crisis at a time." He felt bad that he hadn't sat down and talked with Grace about whatever was bothering her but it was hard to have a serious conversation with a screaming baby demanding attention too.

"Well I've got this one. Go on upstairs and talk to Gracie. She needs you now." Steve said as he gently swayed back and forth with Makayla.

"When did you get so good at all of this?" Danny joked as he ran a hand over Makayla's silky fine hair.

"I've had a good example to learn from." Steve smiled as his partner walked away.

* * *

><p>By the time both Steve and Danny crawled into bed that night they were both exhausted and for the first time in a while it wasn't because of work. Steve had spent the rest of his night with Makayla as a permanent fixture in his arms until she finally cried herself to sleep about an hour ago. He had done everything he could think of to make his baby's pain go away. Eventually a combination of numbing gel on her gums and some baby Motrin seemed to finally make her feel a little bit better though she still remained clingy to him.<p>

Danny had had his hands full dealing with Grace. Steve found it odd for the usually sweet tempered girl to be in such a foul mood. But after a lot of prodding and the use of bribery in the form of shave ice, Danny was finally able to get to the bottom of what was bothering his oldest. Apparently Rachel had made a promise to Grace that she would take her to some specialty doll store in New York for her birthday but now that she was pregnant, they weren't going to be able to go because Rachel wasn't going to be able to travel by the time Grace's birthday came around.

Being the father that he was, he couldn't stand to see the tears that were rolling down her face by the time he had gotten the truth out of her, so he did the only logical thing he could think of—_he _promised to take Grace to New York for her birthday. Of course, he realized that he needed to talk to Steve about all of this but Danny didn't really see it being a problem. Plus, Danny thought that the trip would be good for Grace. She had been an only child for eight years and now in the span of about a year, she suddenly had a baby sister with another sibling on the way. He didn't want her to feel forgotten or replaced by the babies so a trip with just the two of them probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

"You know, you and I make a pretty good pair." Danny commented as he pulled the blankets around him on the bed.

"I've always thought so, but why do you bring it up?" Steve asked, his eyes already closed.

"Well, we've always been a pair on the job because we balance each other out. You're insane, I'm rational. You're brawn, I'm brains—" Steve opened one eye to glare at him. "—but we also make a great pair as parents." Danny finished. Steve opened both eyes now and rolled over onto his side to face his partner.

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, I guess it's because we both understand that nothing about having kids is easy. I mean tonight is a perfect example. Both of our kids were being difficult and instead of ignoring the problems or getting frustrated by them, we worked together to fix the problems and make them feel better. Not all parents are like that." Danny said softly.

"No, they're not. But Danno, you and I have seen the mistakes that other parents—including our own—have made when it comes to their kids and so we're determined not to make the same ones." Steve stated.

Danny couldn't help but agree. If his parents had done for his sister what he did for Grace tonight, maybe things could have been different for her. He moved over closer to Steve and closed his eyes.

"You're a good father, Steve." Danny muttered as he drifted out. Steve smiled and kissed the top of his lover's head.

"It's all because of you, Danno. It's all because of you."


	5. The Common Cold

**A/N: **So I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to post this part yet or not and finally decided to just go with it. I've actually had this written since before I even started this story so I've been sitting on it for awhile and I feel like things have been going just a little too well for Steve, Danny and Makayla so I thought it was time to throw a little drama their way.

* * *

><p>Makayla may have been a Williams by blood, but she was a McGarrett by nature. She followed a routine strict enough to make her naval commander of a father proud. Steve woke every morning at 5am (it used to be 4am but with an infant in the house the extra hour of sleep was proving necessary). He would carefully extract himself from the bed, trying not to wake Danny before heading down the hall to his daughter's nursery where Makayla was usually standing in her crib waiting for her father to arrive.<p>

It was one of the best moments in Steve's day, the quiet time shared just between the two of them as he changed her and spent a few minutes cuddling before he headed out for his morning workout. Sometimes if the weather was nice, Steve would take Makayla along with him for a run. Kono had bought them a jogging stroller that he would strap her into and Makayla was more than content to ride along with her Daddy, occasionally pointing out things with an inquisitive coo. Steve knew he was biased but he thought that his daughter was incredibly smart for seven months old.

This morning, their routine was altered slightly. Instead of standing at the edge of the crib like usual, Makayla was still laying down, staring up at him with bleary eyes.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Steve whispered. She just continued to stare at her father. "You being lazy today?...or do you not feel good?" He asked, noting the way her dark curls were plastered to her head with sweat. It had been a warm night but not warm enough to warrant that much sweating. He brushed his hand over her head gently and she was hot to the touch. "Come here Mak."

He picked her up from her bed and she immediately laid her head on his shoulder. Steve walked the few feet over to the dressing table where he knew Danny had a thermometer stashed away. He found it buried under some extra bibs and placed it gently in her ear. He placed a kiss on her warm forehead as he waited for the results.

"101.6-that's quite a fever you've got going. Let's go downstairs and get you some medicine." He said softly.

Steve wasn't terribly surprised that Makayla was sick. It seemed like the whole island had been battling the latest flu bug that was going around. Grace was just getting over it herself this weekend when she was over and even though she tried to be good and wash her hands, the spreading of germs was inevitable with a not-quite-one year old who stuck everything in her mouth. Thankfully the bug had made its way around HPD but had so far managed to avoid the 5-0. Reaching the kitchen, Steve found the Motrin in the cabinet and drew up a dose in the syringe.

"Open up baby girl. This will make you feel better." He said. Reluctantly the infant opened up her mouth and allowed him to squirt the liquid in. She winced at the taste and then looked up at him.

"Ba ba?" She asked softly. Steve nodded.

"Yes, let's get a bottle." He opened the fridge and began to dig around. They were out of the pedialyte so he made a mental note to pick some more up at the store and poured her a bottle of apple juice before taking her back upstairs.

Back in the nursery, he sat them both down in the rocking chair and began to slowly rock as she drank her bottle. Makayla made it about halfway through before she fell asleep again so he rose and carried her back to her crib where he placed her back down gently. Content that she was alright for now, Steve slipped back down the hall to the bedroom where he changed quickly into his running shorts, tank and sneakers. He left Danny a note on the bathroom mirror informing his partner of their daughter's situation.

_Danno, _

_Makayla has a fever—101.6. Gave her a dose of Motrin at 0513 with a bottle. _

* * *

><p>When Steve returned an hour later, the peace and quiet he had left behind was replaced with the sounds of a clearly unhappy baby. Taking the stairs two at a time he found Danny in the nursery pacing back and forth while Makayla howled miserably, her face red and wet from the effort.<p>

"How long has she been like that?" Steve asked, running his hand over his daughter's still too warm head while giving his husband a quick kiss.

"About ten minutes. I was just about to jump in the shower when she started screaming." Danny said, adjusting his grip on the baby.

"Her fever go down any?" Danny shook his head.

"I just gave her another dose. Hopefully this time it helps."

"Here, I'll take her. You jump in the shower." Steve said, holding out his arms for his daughter. Makayla's cries intensified slightly as she was moved but she quickly buried her face in his shoulder. "I know, you don't feel good, do you Mak?" Steve comforted, moving over to the rocking chair once again hoping it would soothe her like it had before.

Danny left the nursery begrudgingly. He hated to watch his girls cry. It tore at something deep inside his chest and made him want to do nothing but hold them tight until they stopped. Knowing Makayla was sick on top of it just made him feel worse. He knew though that Steve was more than capable of taking care of their daughter. Despite his original awkwardness around children, Steve had turned out to be a fantastic parent—practically a natural. It pleased Danny to no end to watch Steve and Makayla interact because they shared a mutual curiosity for each other.

He showered quickly and dressed in his slacks and a button down before heading back to the nursery where Makayla seemed no more pacified than when he had left.

"This day just keeps getting better." Steve announced.

"Why?" Danny asked, sensing bad news.

"Vivian's sick too." Steve replied. Danny's face fell.

"Are you serious?"

"Apparently she caught the bug that's been going around." Steve said attempting to shrug but Makayla's head made the movement difficult.

"Great." Danny muttered.

"Can we call Rachel?" Steve asked, rubbing the baby's back.

"No, she's sick too." Danny informed.

"Kamekona?"

"No, just…no. I am not leaving a sick child with Shave Ice. Lord only knows what kind of crazy island remedy he would try on her." Danny declined.

"One of us could stay home with her." Steve suggested.

"I have to testify in the Harmon case today." Danny reminded.

"I can stay with her." Steve offered.

"You," Danny pointed a finger at him. "have your monthly meeting with the Governor."

"I can reschedule-"

"You've already rescheduled three times. She told you if you did it again she was going to take away your full means and immunity and I'm not willing to take a chance on calling her bluff because we kind of need that Steven. Not to mention that we still have the Miller case to wrap up." Danny explained. Steve sighed and looked down at his daughter whose cries had shifted from howling to simply moaning miserably.

"I'll just work from home then. There's no other option. I'll stay here and send Chin or Kono out if something comes up in the case." Steve stated. There wasn't a better option that he could see and he really didn't want to be away from his daughter right now. This was the first major cold that Makayla had gotten and Steve was feeling a little overprotective of their baby.

"What are you going to do about the Governor?" Danny asked. He didn't like the idea of having to leave Makayla anymore than Steve did but he didn't think the DA would take too kindly to him asking for a continuance so he could stay home with his sick child.

"I'll call her and see if she can meet me here instead." Steve said casually even though he knew she was going to give him a hard time about it.

"Alright, well why don't you give her to me so you can jump in the shower quickly before I leave. I'll make sure you've got everything you need while you get ready." Danny said, reaching out to take his daughter into her arms.

As Steve headed down the hall to the bathroom, Danny carried Makayla over to change her and dress her in a fresh outfit. He picked a lightweight pink onesie that unfortunately said 'Daddy's Camo Princess' with the words written in pink camouflage (he had his sister to blame for that one). He also left out a pair of pink cotton pants in case she was cold later after her fever broke. He and Steve had tried desperately not to have an entire wardrobe full of pink frilly outfits for Makayla. It definitely wasn't their style and they had done their best to buy her more neutral colored clothes but it was starting to become a losing battle as Rachel, Kono and occasionally Casey added to the infant's clothing selection.

With a fresh diaper and outfit, Danny carried Makayla downstairs with him to the kitchen. He checked her temperature again (it had dropped a degree) and then set her in her highchair as he made her up a bottle. Steve could try later to give her some rice cereal but for now a bottle of formula would do. Makayla looked at him pitifully when he handed her the bottle. She sat slumped in her chair with her bottom lip sticking out as she pouted, ignoring the bottle.

"Aww Kay, don't look at me like that. You picked up that kicked puppy look from Daddy and Danno _hates _that look on either one of you." Danny stated with a twinge in his chest.

"What is it with you and my faces?" Steve asked from the doorway. His wet hair had clearly been combed with a towel and he was dressed in his normal cargo pants and tee shirt.

"Normally, I have no problem with your face. But there are certain ones—_like that one-_," Danny said, pointing towards their daughter. "—that I prefer not to see. They bother me." Steve looked over at Makayla and frowned. "See, now you both have that face." Steve rolled his eyes as Danny tossed his hands in the air.

"We're going to need more juice. Can you stop on your way home and pick some up?" Steve asked, ignoring Danny's dramatics.

"Yeah. I'll try to stop by when we're on recess to check on her." Danny said as he kissed the top of Makayla's head. "Make sure you keep an eye on her temp. If it doesn't start going down we're going to have to take her to doctor."

"Should we make an appointment with the pediatrician just in case?" Steve asked, as he picked the baby up out of the highchair. Makayla settled her head against his shoulder and sniffled as they walked with Danny to the door.

"Nah, she's probably got Grace's cold. We'll keep an eye on her in case she gets worse but she should be fine, right Kay?" Danny said, stroking her soft curls as he tried to combat the feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Feel better baby girl." He whispered before turning and giving Steve a kiss. "Keep me informed. Love you."

"Love you too." Steve replied as he and Makayla watched Danny get into the Camaro and back out of the driveway before turning away from the door.

"Come on Mak. Daddy's got some phone calls to make."


	6. Worse

**A/n: **this isn't my favorite chapter but it's necessary for the storyline. Don't hate me.

Steve risked another glance at his daughter as he heard her breathing softly against his shoulder. Makayla had finally fallen asleep about ten minutes ago after spending most of the morning in an inconsolable state. After Danny had left the house he made a call to Chin and Kono to inform him of the situation and left a message with the Governor about changing the location of their meeting. With that accomplished he had then tried to feed Makayla a bowl of cereal only to find her even less interested in that than she had been in the bottle that Danny had made her before he left. Steve knew he had to get something more in her that the half of bottle of juice he had given her earlier in the morning but his daughter wasn't about to make anything easy today.

By nine am, Steve had accomplished absolutely nothing on the current case that they were working. He had been trying to read the case briefs on what they had gotten so far as he paced back and forth in their home office as he attempted to get Makayla to sleep. When her whines finally gave way to even breathing, Steve had wandered over to his chair so he could look over some of the evidence files which was harder than he thought to accomplish one handed as Makayla slept on his shoulder and he didn't dare move that arm.

This was the position that Chin found him twenty minutes later. The older detective stood in the doorway and smiled fondly at the father and daughter. It was now as common to see Steve McGarrett holding his baby as it was to see him holding his pistol.

"It's been a rough morning." Steve whispered when he finally noticed his friend's presence.

"I can see that." Chin whispered back with a slight chuckle. Steve had worry lines etched into his forehead and he could see the evidence of a combination of spit up and cereal on the SEAL's black tee-shirt. "I thought I'd stop by and see if you need any help."

"With the case or the baby?"

"Both." Chin smiled.

"I think we're okay so far." Steve shrugged and then instantly regretted it as a little moan escaped from Makayla. He sat perfectly still until she settled again. Chin chuckled again. "But tell me what we have so far on the case."

Steve was extremely glad that Chin was there and that he could rely on the older man to pick up the slack in his or Danny's absence because Steve's mind was most certainly not on the job. He was worried about Makayla and her illness. He had yet to get her fever down under 100 degrees and she was becoming more and more lethargic. In the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder if this was more than just a simple cold but he could hear Danny's voice reassuring him that he was simply overreacting as usual. With all these concerns swirling around, he had little brain power left for anything else.

"You okay brah?" Chin asked after about a half hour of talking with his boss.

"What? Ya I'm fine." Steve stated quickly.

"You sure? Cause your phone's been ringing for about two minutes straight and you haven't answered it." Chin pointed out.

"Really?" Steve said, shocked as he finally heard his ringtone go off. He sat up quickly to reach for it, forgetting about his sleeping daughter. The sudden movement woke Makayla who instantly began to scream. "Shit." He mumbled under his breath.

"Here, give her to me. You answer your phone." Chin declared as he reached out for the little girl. Makayla resisted him initially, wanting to remain in her father's arms but eventually gave up the struggle in search of comfort. Chin carried her out of the room and down the hall as Steve answered his phone.

"Good morning Governor." Steve said cheeringly as soon as he answered.

"Steve I called you three times and you didn't answer, is something wrong?" The Governor asked.

"No, ma'am it's just been a little bit of a crazy morning so far." He stated.

"Steve you had better not be calling to cancel our meeting." She warned.

"No ma'am…..I was just wondering if it was possible to change the location of the meeting? I kind of have a bit of a situation." Steve said.

"What kind of a situation?" She inquired. Steve sighed.

"I'm stuck at home with Makayla. She's sick and so is our nanny—"

"Is she alright?" She asked, instantly worried.

"She's got a bit of a fever and doesn't feel well but she should be fine. Unfortunately our nanny's sick and all our backups fell through. I promise it's not something we plan on making a habit of but we didn't have anyone else to leave her with -"

"Steve, don't worry about it. Your house is fine. I'll see you in an hour." She replied.

"Thank you ma'am. I'll see you then."

Steve ran a hand over his face roughly as he could hear Makayla continue to cry down the hall. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>"Steve think about this." Governor Jameson pleaded.<p>

Chin had agreed to watch over Makayla while Steve and the Governor held their meeting and now Steve was beginning to wish he had kept his daughter in the room if nothing more than to use as a distraction. Things had gone well enough to start with as they talked about budgets and after action reports but towards the end of the meeting the Governor had asked if they had any new leads on his father's investigations. Steve had informed her that he had new leads on the Wo Fat investigation, which had gone stagnant for awhile now, and he was planning to pursue every lead until he brought Wo Fat down. This clearly hadn't been the answer she had wanted or expected to hear.

"It was one thing to seek vengeance when it was just you but you have a family now Steve. A husband and two girls who would be devastated if anything were to happen to you. " She pointed out to him.

"With all due respect ma'am, Danny and the girls are exactly the reason why I have to do this. This bastard has already taken my mother and my father from me and he had Mary kidnapped. I can't sit back and wait to see who he goes after next. I won't put my children in that kind of danger." Steve stated forcefully as he stood and began to pace the small room.

"And what does Daniel think about all this?" She asked.

"He's expressed the same concerns as you—but he also agrees that we can't take the passive approach either. It's too much of a risk." Steve replied.

He had actually had to listen to his partner rant for an entire evening about his own stupidity and about the problems with vendettas before spending the rest of the night in bed talking over strategies with Danny. Steve had learned a long time ago that it was safest to just let Danny go off on him before trying to have a rational discussion.

"So you're really going to do this?" She asked, looking for confirmation from him.

"I don't see how I really have a choice." He said. Governor Jameson sighed and was about to respond when a yell cut her off.

"Steve!" Chin yelled from the living room down the hall. "You need to get in here now!" Steve took off in a full sprint towards his friend and daughter. He found Chin standing next to the bassinet, worry clearly etched across his face.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, slightly panicked.

"Makayla's having a seizure." Chin said, his voice shaking. Steve's eyes went wide as he looked down at his daughter.

Makayla was lying in the bassinet as Chin held her on her side. Her blues eyes had rolled back into her head as her little body shook violently.

"Oh god." Steve breathed. He felt like he'd been suckered punched in the gut. "How long has it been?"

"Over a minute." Chin stated. "I heard her making a weird noise and when I looked over I saw her shaking."

"We have to call 911." Steve started.

"I already did." The Governor replied from behind the two men. "The paramedics are on their way. They said to time how long she seizes for and make sure there's nothing in her mouth that she can choke on."

It was three agonizing minutes before Makayla's body finally stopped shaking. A line of drool made its way down her face and if Steve hadn't seen it himself he would have sworn that she just looked like she was sleeping. He reached a hand into the crib and gently pressed it on her chest to reassure himself that she was still breathing. A hand on his shoulder tried to pull him away and he resisted.

"Steve, the paramedics are here." Chin said softly. "You have to let them take her." Slowly Steve removed his hand but his eyes never left his daughter.

"Where are you taking her?" Steve choked out.

"Queens is the closest." One of the paramedics informed them as they began to get the baby ready to transport. He then pointed to Steve. "Are you her father?" Steve nodded. "There's room in the back if you want to ride with us." He informed.

"Go." Chin said, giving his boss a push. "We'll meet you there." He assured.

"Danny-" Steve started.

"I'll call him. Go." Chin replied. Steve just nodded again before taking off after the paramedics who were leading the stretcher out of the house.

As the ambulance took off out of the driveway and down the street, Chin pulled out his phone and reluctantly dialed his friend's number. This was one phone call he didn't want to have to make. Danny's phone went right to voicemail and Chin figured that he was probably still testifying so he left him a message.

"Danny it's me. Call me when you get this. Steve's on his way to Queens with Makayla. She's gotten worse."

**A/n: **DON'T HATE ME!


	7. Prognosis

**A/n:** I know. I'm a HORRIBLE person for doing this, but there is a point to it. I don't like making poor little babies suffer for fun.

There were few things that Detective Danny Williams liked less than having to testify in court. Getting a slightly panicked voicemail from his friend saying that his husband was taking their youngest daughter to the hospital topped the list.

The judge had called a recess for lunch and Danny had just pulled his phone out to check to see if he had an update from Steve on Makayla's condition when he got the message. A moment later, one of the Governor's aides approached to inform him that she had already spoken with the judge about having his testimony postponed to a later date so that he could head over to the hospital. Danny had made it to Queens in a time that surely wasn't legally considering he had flipped the sirens and blown every red light and stoplight in his way. If anything constituted an emergency this certainly did.

"What happened?" Danny asked as he rushed up to Steve who was pacing the length of the waiting room like a caged animal. He took a good look at his partner and saw the fear and worry etched into his handsome face. It made his stomach drop slightly.

"Her fever spiked over 103. It's almost 104 now. They're trying to cool her down and run some tests to figure out what's wrong." Steve said as he sat down in the two chairs outside of the room. "She had a seizure, Danny."

Steve couldn't help the shaky quality to his voice. It had been terrifying staring down at his baby girl as she lay listless on the stretcher in the ambulance, looking up at him with glassy eyes .Danny had just opened his mouth to ask another question when a doctor emerged from the room and stood before them.

"Are you Makayla's parents?" He asked. They nodded. "I'm Dr. Ross, I'm the pediatric attending here in the ER. We think that we've got her stabilized for now." He stated.

"You think?" Danny exclaimed. "What do you mean you think?"

"It means that she hasn't had another seizure and her fever hasn't gone up anymore it also hasn't gone either. It's possible that the Makayla had a febrile seizure meaning its cause could be the fact that she had such a high fever for so long." Dr. Ross explained.

"You said it could have been caused by the fever…what else could have caused it?" Steve asked, picking up on the doctor's hesitancy.

"It's hard to say right now. We've taken some blood and have been running some tests but so far the only thing we've found is an elevated white blood cell count which simply tells us that she's fighting an infection. Other than that all of the other tests have all come back negative." The doctor informed.

"So you have no idea what's wrong with her is what you're telling us." Danny said crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to contain the anger that was quickly rising within him.

"For now." Dr. Ross admitted reluctantly. "We'll be able to tell more as we get more test results back but….there is one more test that I'd like to perform that might give us an answer."

"Anything." Steve croaked.

"I want to do a lumbar puncture." Dr. Ross declared. Danny and Steve both looked at him with wide eyes.

"A lumbar puncture? Like a spinal tap?" Danny asked. Dr. Ross nodded. "You want to stick a needle into the spine of my seven month old. I mean, what kind of risk are we talking about here, doc? How do we know you're not going to paralyze her?"

"There is a small risk of paralysis involved with a lumbar puncture but I assure you that those risks are far lower than the ones she faces if we don't perform the test." He said seriously.

"What do you think she has?" Steve asked, almost afraid to ask.

"I think she might have meningitis." Dr. Ross stated. "It explains the sudden onset of the high fever, lethargy you noted as well as the refusal to eat. It could also be the reason for her seizure. I also noticed when I was examined her that the soft spot on her head was bulging which is usually a key indicator of meningitis in a child her age."

"How does a baby get meningitis?" Danny asked, stunned.

"It's not as uncommon as you would think in infants. It's usually contracted orally and since an infant her age likes to put everything in her mouth, it increases the risk of exposure. Do you know if anyone she's in contact with has been sick?" The doctor asked.

"Our oldest daughter, Grace, she was sick last week but nothing as serious as this. It was just a cold…we thought Makayla had caught the same thing." Danny explained.

"Does she attend a daycare?"

"No, we have a nanny who takes care of Makayla…she's sick too right now, but it seems like she just has a cold too." Steve explained. "Do you think Makayla contracted it from someone else?"

"It's the most likely answer but plenty of healthy people carry around the germs that cause meningitis and they're never affected. For whatever reason, Makayla was susceptible to it." Dr. Ross shrugged.

"So what kind of prognosis are we looking at?" Steve asked, his voice sounding stronger than he felt at the moment.

"It depends on whether it's bacterial or viral. If it's viral, once we get her fever down and get her stabilized, you should be able to take her home to recover. If it's bacterial…we could be in for a rough ride, because there are far more serious complications involved with it. We'll be able to tell more once we analyze the fluid. For now though, I want to do the lumbar puncture and then I want to have her transferred up to the PICU where she can get more specialized care. " Dr. Ross explained. The two men simply nodded.

"When can we see her?" Steve asked, knowing that they both needed to see their daughter to reassure themselves as well as comfort her.

"Once we get her settled in the PICU, I'll make sure the nurses bring you in to see her." Dr. Ross assured before disappearing back into the ER.

Danny dropped down into the chair next to Steve and let out a shaky breath. He was stilling trying to figure out how they had ended up here. He had left her this morning with just a cold, nothing life threatening. He looked over at his partner who was visibly rattled. It was one of the few times that he had seen Steve be truly scared of something.

"She's going to be okay….right?" Steve asked him as he stared at the doors that the doctor had disappeared behind.

"Of course." Danny stated.

'_She has to be'_ he thought to himself. '_Cause she's not the only one I'll lose.'_


	8. Coping and Guilt

**A/n: **I'm not one hundred percent certain how intensive care units work so I went with what I think I know. Corrections are welcome.

_Pray god you can cope. I stand outside this woman's work, oooh its hard on the man. Now his part is over, now starts the craft of the father. I know you have a little life in you yet, I know you have a lot of strength left.—Kate Bush, This Woman's Work_

Steve hated hospitals. He had made at least one trip to the ER a summer as a child with various cuts and broken bones. He could still remember his first trip to the hospital when he was six years old. Mary was just a toddler and had been following him around everywhere so in an attempt to get away from her, he had climbed one of the trees in the backyard. In his young mind, it had been a successful plan until he had tried to get back down. His foot had slipped on one of the branches and he fell. His mother had taken him to the emergency room with a broken wrist and a cut on his chin that required five stitches to close. The doctor had told his mother that 'boys would be boys' and to 'get used to it'. Now as a parent himself, Steve realized that she had probably never gotten used to it. Of course, he had never been as bad off as his poor baby girl was now.

The doctor had performed the lumbar puncture on Makayla and she was then transferred up to the pediatric intensive care unit where they could monitor and treat her better. They were still waiting for the official lab results to come back but Dr. Ross was almost certain that Makayla had meningitis. He had started her on broad spectrum antibiotics should the test results show that she had the bacterial strain. If it was viral, then they were keep her until her fever came down and she began to improve and then send her home. If it was bacterial Steve didn't want to think about lay ahead of them.

Danny had gone upstairs with Makayla and Steve had left them, claiming to have phone calls to make, which wasn't entirely a lie. He did have to call Chin, Kono and Rachel to let them know what was going on as well as updating the Governor but Steve also just needed to get away for awhile. Everything seemed to be happening at a breakneck pace and he needed a moment to step back and catch his breath.

"Hey Steve," Chin called out as he approached Steve outside of the hospital. "Is everything okay?" The older man asked, not liking the look on his boss's face.

"I don't know." Steve admitted as he scrubbed his hands over his face. "We're still waiting for the test results but the doctor thinks Makayla has meningitis."

"Meningitis? That's pretty serious for a baby." Chin sighed.

"Yeah, they admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. Danny's up with her now. I just…." Steve trailed off.

"Needed a minute?" Chin offered with his knowing smile. "It's okay to admit it, Steve. No parent is ever prepared for something like this."

"I just feel so useless. I look at her in the crib looking back at me with those teary blue eyes and there's _nothing _I can do to make her feel better." Steve lamented. Chin placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, Steve. Your little girl is going to pull through this just fine." Chin reassured. Steve nodded but there was still a feeling in a pit of his stomach telling him that the worst was yet to come.

* * *

><p>"Only seven months old. You've just barely gotten started here in this big old world. You shouldn't have to be worrying about life or death yet. You should be doing cute things like crawling into trouble or babbling in your own little language." The nurse gently cooed to Makayla as she gently stroked her hair. Makayla looked up at her with glassy eyes as she lay in her crib.<p>

"I'd settle for a smile right now." Danny said as he stood in the doorway to his daughter's room.

"You must be dad." She said, turning her head towards him as she continued to stroke the baby's hair.

"One of them." He shrugged as he entered the room. "Danny Williams."

"Mel Westbrook. I'll be Makayla's day nurse here in the unit." She stated, shaking his hand.

"She gets her own nurse?" Danny asked, surprised.

"We usually try to assign one nurse per child. That way there's less chance of orders being messed up and you as the parent know who's in charge of your daughter's care. It's also for security reasons. This is a locked ward and having assigned personnel helps spot those who don't belong." Mel explained.

"Who would want to steal a sick child?" Danny wondered out loud. He'd seen a lot of things as a cop and he hoped that he'd never have to deal with a case like that.

"When you're desperate any child will do." She stated sadly. "But we won't have to worry about that. All we're concerned about is getting you all better." She said turning her attention back to Makayla. Danny came and stood on the other side of the crib and looked down at his daughter.

"She looks so much worse than when I left her this morning." He whispered, trying to swallow the guilt that had been slowly seeping into him since he had gotten the phone call earlier.

Steve had been worried this morning and wanted to take her to the doctor but Danny had insisted that it was just a cold and Steve had listened to him. His partner trusted his judgment and his judgment had landed one of his children in the hospital with a serious illness.

"I know all the wires and tubes and monitors look terrifying but they're here for me to worry about. You're only concern are those five little fat fingers over there that are just itching for daddy to hold them." The nurse explained, miss reading his guilt for worry. Danny reached in and took Makayla's hand in his.

"How long until we get the test results back?" He asked as he stroked the back of the baby's hand with his thumb.

"The doctor should be in soon with the results." She stated. "Now there's a recliner there in the corner for you. I know your main concern right now is for your daughter but you have to take care of yourself too so make sure that you eat and get some rest. You're no good to her if you ended up a patient as well." She reminded. Danny nodded.

"Thank you."

"No problem. I'll be just done the hall in the nurse's station if you need anything." Mel said before leaving the room. Danny looked back down at Makayla and wiped away the stray tears that had begun to run down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Makayla. Danno really let you down this time."


	9. Just a Dream?

_God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.—The Serenity Prayer_

_When you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras-anonymous_

Steve didn't think he would be able to sleep that night but after tossing and turning in the bed for over an hour, the adrenaline that he had been running on all day had finally worn off and the mental and emotional exhaustion caught up with him causing him to fall into a fitful sleep. The nurses had forced him and Danny to leave the hospital around ten pm claiming that visiting hours were over and insisting that they needed to get some rest. Mel had assured them before she went off duty that the night nurses would contact them immediately if anything were to happen but that it was highly unlikely that anything would.

The test results had come back positive for bacterial meningitis. Thankfully they had gotten Makayla medical care relatively quick which helped lessen the likelihood of serious complications but Steve still couldn't shake the feeling that things were going to get worse before they got better.

On the car ride home, Steve could tell that there was something wrong with Danny that was more than just the worry that they both felt for their baby girl. His partner wouldn't look him in the eye and Steve thought that he almost looked guilty about something but he couldn't be completely sure.

"_You okay?" Steve had asked quietly as he navigated the Camaro through the empty streets._

"_About as okay as you are right now." Danny replied, looking out the window. They were both silent for a few blocks before Steve spoke again. _

"_We should call Casey and let her know what's going on." He suggested. Danny finally turned to look at him._

"_No. That would not be a good idea right now." The blonde insisted._

"_Danny, she has a right to know. Makayla's her daughter—"_

"_I know that, Steven." Danny snapped, cutting him off. "But you don't know my sister like I do. She doesn't handle these kinds of things well. And her being all the way in Chicago where she can't do anything about the situation will only make things worse."_

"_She's stronger than you think." Steve said softly. "If anything the adoption should have shown you that. Yes I think she'll be worried about Makayla just like we are but I don't think she's going to apart." _

"_You don't know her like I do." Danny repeated gruffly, his tone signaling that this conversation was over to him. "Promise me you won't call her…at least not yet anyways."_

"_Fine." Steve agreed, too tired to argue with his partner anymore._

They hadn't said much else to each other the rest of the night as they each choked down a sandwich before heading off to bed. It was a little after three a.m. when something woke Steve up. His first instinct as he sat up was to check the baby monitor to make sure that Makayla was alright. It took him a minute to remind himself that there wasn't going to be any sound coming from the nursery because Makayla wasn't there and a shiver ran down his spine. As he was going to settle back under the covers, he noticed that the other side of the bed was empty and the sheets were cold.

Throwing the covers off, Steve got out of bed and headed out into the hallway in search of his partner. He found Danny in the nursery, sitting in the rocking chair with a forlorn expression on his face as he stared out the window. Steve padded across the room and sat on the foot stool that sat in front of the rocker.

"You okay?" He asked for the second time that night.

"I couldn't sleep." Danny stated, keeping his eyes turned away. Steve reached out and took one of his hands.

"It's going to be okay, Danny. Makayla's going to be fine…we have to believe that." Steve insisted, trying as much to convince himself as he was trying to convince Danny.

"I should have known." Danny muttered to himself as he pulled his hand back.

"Should have known what?" Steve asked, confused.

"I should have known she was sicker. I should have known when her fever wouldn't go down that it was something more serious than a cold." Danny replied.

"Danny…." Steve sighed and ran a hand over his face. So it had been guilt he'd read on his partner's face earlier. "There's no way you could have known that Makayla had meningitis. Hell, _I _never would have guessed it and it seemed like the right conclusion to come to considering that everyone else has been sick lately. It's natural to think horses and not zebras." Steve explained.

"We're trained to think zebras." Danny pointed out.

"Not when it comes to our kids." Steve countered. "Look, beating yourself up over 'what ifs' and 'should haves' isn't going to change anything. We just have to figure out some way to deal with the situation now. Weren't you the one telling me to stop obsessing about 'what ifs' and worst case scenarios?"

"I hate when you use my words against me." Danny pouted. Steve reached his hand out again.

"Come on Danno, let's go back to bed. Maybe when we wake up this will all be a bad dream."


	10. An Ounce of Patience

_There's no problem so awful that you can't add some guilt to it and make it even worse—Calvin and Hobbes_

Steve was pretty good at feeling guilty about things that really weren't his fault. Both of his parents deaths and things that had happened in combat were things he carried around with him almost all the time. He knew that Danny was the same. His partner had been raised Catholic—he felt guilty about everything. But while they shared in the feeling of guilt, their reactions to it were completely opposite.

Steve had learned through the Navy how to turn his guilt into something functional, to turn into some kind of motivation. It was what had kept him going through a lot of dark periods in his life. Danny's guilt on the other hand, shut him down. It consumed him and his thoughts. It was something Steve didn't understand until he became a parent because it was one thing to feel bad about his actions and their effects on other people. It was something else entirely when it involved his children.

After his talk with Danny, Steve had been unable to fall back asleep. He couldn't stop his mind from racing. For all of his bravado in telling Danny that they had to believe Makayla would be fine, Steve wasn't feeling all that confident. If things weren't really as bad as they seemed then why was their daughter lying in the pediatric intensive care unit, hooked up to all kinds of machines and medications? Why was there this foreboding cloud hanging over them? Or a suffocating feeling of panic in his chest that wouldn't go away? For all the really awful experiences Steve had been through in his life, this ranked at the top of the list.

Makayla had awoken just a few minutes before they had arrived at the hospital and they could hear her cries as soon as they got off the elevator. It had been a rough night, the nurse informed them. Her fever still refused to break which had left her fussy and unable to really sleep. The doctor was going to increase the dosage of her medication to try to break her fever but to Steve it wasn't enough.

"What is the good of all of this if it doesn't work? They're doctors! They're supposed to be able to treat this." He vented, pacing the small room as he slowly began to reach his breaking point.

"It _does _work, Steven. It just hasn't worked _yet_. There's no magic cure all pill for this. It's going to take some time." Danny reassured as he attempted to feed Makayla a bottle. "Weren't you the one who was just telling me to have a little faith?" He added, throwing up an eyebrow as he watched his partner.

"I mean how hard is it to treat a fever?" Steve continued on, ignoring Danny's comment. "Parents have been successfully treating their children for generations but these people with all of their education and special equipment can't figure it out?"

"What is the matter with you?" Danny asked, looking at him in bewilderment. "This is not the common cold, Steve. It's meningitis—"

"I know that!" Steve shouted, not needing the reminder.

"—and it hasn't even been twenty four hours since she was admitted. So will you please calm down and have an ounce of patience?" It was Danny's turn to ignore Steve's outburst.

"The longer her fever continues, the more serious the strain it is. The more serious the strain it is, the more likely there are to be complications." Steve stated, running his hands through his hair as he tried to rein in his emotions.

"You researched this, didn't you?" Steve looked away. "Yes you did because that is how your warped brain works. You have to know all the gory details." Danny accused, setting aside the half empty bottle.

"Excuse me for wanting to be an informed parent." Steve snapped. "How could you _not _want to know?"

"I trust the doctors to tell us what we need to know." Danny replied. Steve laughed.

"Ha! This from the man who takes nothing he's told at face value."

"I don't take anything _criminals _tell me at face value." Danny corrected.

"Where is this sudden faith in doctors coming from? You're the one who usually bitches the loudest at the doctors when we end up in the ER!" Steve pointed out.

"Would you rather I bitch loudly at you?" Danny countered. "What other choice do we have right now? We can't take her home and fix this ourselves."

And that right there was the heart of the issue. It wasn't just the guilt that they were fighting—it was the helplessness too.


	11. You Lost a Son Once Too

**A/n: **This is what happens when I'm stressed out because of finals—mega angst—you have been warned! I'm not a Catholic so I apologize for any mistakes. I also do not mean to offend anyone's faith but I think there are moments when you just reach a point where you have to rant at God and ask some tough questions.

_Lord don't you know she's my angel? You've got plenty of your own. And I know you hold a place for her but she's already got a home. Well I don't know if you're listening but praying's all that's left to do. So I ask you Lord have mercy, you lost a son once too—Sherrie Austin, Streets of Heaven_

_For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future—Jeremiah 29:11_

Things go to hell fast. On the third day of Makayla's admission, her fever finally begins to break which seems like a good thing. Until the seizures start again. The doctor tells them that it's a complication of the meningitis but there's also a possibility that Makayla could be going into septic shock from the infection. The problem is that there's hardly any to distinguish between the two because the symptoms are virtually the same. He increases the antibiotic and suggests the possibility of starting her on steroids. The only problem with the steroids is that while they may help reduce some of the swelling in her brain which could stop the seizures, it could also wreak havoc on an already taxed immune system making it harder for her body to fight the infection, especially if she is going septic. Numerous blood tests are run but before the results can even come back, Makayla crashes.

Steve and Danny had just passed out in bed after leaving the hospital late almost a week after their daughter was first admitted when the phone rang. It was Sarah, Makayla's night nurse. She went into respiratory distress shortly after her fathers had left. The doctors were able to stabilize her but she had to be placed on a respirator for the time being to help her breath. So now, it had been ten days since Makayla had first been admitted to the hospital and both of them are barely hanging on as their daughter fights to survive.

Danny knew there was no way that he could avoid telling his sister any longer. If things were to take the ultimate turn for the worst, he knew that it wouldn't be fair for Casey to be blindsided by the news. The phone call goes about as badly as he expected it too. She started out pissed at him for waiting so long to tell her what was going on and then as the seriousness of the situation started to set in, Casey began to cry and it was killing him that she was so far away from them and had no one to turn to for comfort. Before they hung up, she asked him the one question he didn't know how to answer: Should she fly out there? Danny didn't know what to tell her. If he said yes, it was admitting that Makayla might not make it which was something he didn't even want to think about. But if something did happen and Casey wasn't there, they would both regret it for the rest of their lives. So he went for the non-committal answer and told her that he'd get back to her when they had more news.

Danny has a hard time staying in Makayla's hospital room for long periods of time. He wants to stay by her side at all times but the tension in the room is hard to take at times. The baby attached to all the machines and wires doesn't even look like his Makayla and looking at her brings up all kind of feelings that he doesn't know how to deal with. The nurses are overly sympathetic and attentive which gets on his nerves more than it should. The doctors seem about as frustrated as him and Steve about the baby girl's condition. They're stuck in wait-and-see mode as to whether the medications or the infection is going to win the battle. Right now, things seem to be at a stalemate.

Steve is like a lost puppy who doesn't know whether to stay or go. Some days, it's practically impossible to try to move him from the chair next to Makayla's crib. Other days, he can't seem to stay still and so he paces the room for awhile before disappearing. Danny never asks where his partner goes and Steve never offers any information. Idly, Danny wonders what the consequences of all of this will be on their marriage. They say the death of a child is one of the hardest things for a marriage to survive. Could he and Steve survive together if something happened to Makayla? Danny isn't sure he wants to know the answer. He knows his marriage to Rachel would have been over before the funeral. Hell they couldn't make it work when Grace was perfectly fine. A sick child would have only made things worse. Danny knows that he and Steve should talk about things but neither are in the right frame of mind for that conversation right now.

He spends a lot of time walking around the hospital aimlessly and on more than one occasion he's passed by the chapel. Usually there's a Mass being conducted or someone in there praying for a loved one and so Danny just continues on. But today, the chapel's empty and for some reason he feels drawn to go in. By habit, the Catholic in him remembers to cross himself and say his Hail Mary's as he sits down in one of the pews but after that he's not sure what to do. It's been awhile since he went to church with any kind of regularity and his personal faith has faded over the years. After sitting there for a few minutes, staring at the image of the Virgin Mary holding her child, Danny finally starts to do what he does best—talk.

"I don't understand, God. You say you have a plan for me, but I don't get it. I was raised in the Catholic Church. I went to Mass with my Ma. I believed in you without question or doubt because I believed you when you said you had plans to not to harm me and give me hope and a future. I believed in you even when things were bad in my family because I thought you were merciful." He starts, bowing his head as he speaks.

"But then you had to test me. And maybe in the beginning I understood why. True followers are supposed to be tested-the whole trial by fire thing- I got it. But then you took it too far. You tried to take away my Grace. You gave me no other option but to follow her even though it meant giving up everything else-and I did. It was hard but I did. And yeah okay maybe I see the logic that if I never left New Jersey I wouldn't have met Steve who I love so much because he is such an amazing person and I don't care if you think it's a sin or not. But once again, I found happiness and now you're trying to take it away again. You're trying to take away my baby girl for good and that…that I cannot accept." He declares, his voice breaking slightly.

"How can you be a merciful God when you're trying to take away my daughter before she even has a chance to truly live? She's only had seven months-seven months-you're not even giving her a whole year! And don't tell me to be grateful for the small amount of time that we've had her because we're selfish alright? Steve and I want more time. We want a whole life for her-learning to walk, talking, ride a bike, read a book, drive a car, fall in love, get married and have babies of her own-we want all of those things for her." Danny insists, anger overriding his despair temporarily.

"I just want a chance to see what an amazing person she's going to turn into." He pleads. "You know in my line of work I see so many awful people and all the terrible things that they do to others and I just can't help but wonder how you can allow scum like Wo Fat to continue to live and yet you take away so many amazing people who could have done so much to make this world better. I don't get that! I don't get why you need my daughter! Don't you already have enough angels? Why do you need to take away mine?" He exclaims and runs his hands through his hair as he laughs humorlessly.

"I have no idea if you're even there and if you can hear me but I ask you as one father to another, please do not take my child. You lost a son. Don't let me lose my daughter. Steve and I have lost enough already."


	12. You Wreck Everything You Touch

**A/n: **wow you guys. I'm truly grateful for the response to the last chapter because I honestly almost didn't post it. I thought maybe I'd gone a little too far but you guys are awesome. Which is why you now get something that's a little bit lighter…I think?

"_There are very few certainties that touch us all in this mortal experience, but one of the absolutes is that we will experience hardship and stress at some point." Dr. James C. Dobson _

"Casey, this is the third order tonight that you've screwed up. Get your head out of your ass." Elliot snapped as he slammed his tray down on the counter.

"I'm sorry, alright? Just give me a minute to fix it." She apologized as she rubbed her forehead roughly in a futile attempt to ward off the impending tears.

Danny had called just before she had left for her shift and her head had been in Hawaii ever since. Makayla was seriously ill. She had been hospitalized for over a week now and her condition was steadily worsening. She had asked her big brother what she should do and he either didn't know or was unwilling to give her an honest answer. A part of her (the small maternal part) wanted to jump on the first plane out of Chicago to Honolulu but the other part (the one she'd been battling since the day Makayla was born) was too scared to face the situation. So she remained in Chicago, conflicted and confused.

"Here." She said, as she set the new drinks down on the tray.

"Screw it up again and you can forget sharing my tips tonight." Elliot warned as he walked away.

"Like you ever do anyways." She muttered under her breath. "You're just jealous that I make more anyways because I'm not an asshole." She continued. Two tears dripped down her cheeks and she cursed herself. "Come on Williams, pull yourself together. Damn meds are turning you into a weepy mess."

Between the hormone therapy that the doctors had insisted she start after the hysterectomy and the anti-depressants she had been prescribed for her post partum depression, her emotions were all over the place and were time to control at times. Add to that the added emotions regarding Makayla and Casey knew that she was going to have to have a good cry out back before the night was over.

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see a customer approach the bar so she took a deep breath and wiped her face quickly before turning to him with the best smile she could fake.

"What can I get you?" She asked, trying to sound upbeat.

"Two pitchers of whatever you've got on tap." He replied. "Are you alright?" He added, voice filled with concern.

"I'm doing just fine." She smiled sweetly. "How about yourself?"

"Well I'd be doing better if I thought that smile was real." He flirted and Casey had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She was not in the mood. He seemed to notice less because he took his smile down a notch. "I don't mean to be forward. I just don't like to see women cry."

"Well that's very chivalrous of you, but my problems are not of your concern." She stated, trying to remain polite as she placed the two pitchers on the bar. "Besides, you're a complete stranger to me." She added.

"Well…Casey," He said, reading her name off her badge. "I'm Kris. Now we're not strangers anymore." He said with a smile.

"Look," Casey sighed. "I'm sure that you're a really nice guy who really does have good intentions but my problems are a long and complicated story that I don't even know where to start with…and you've got a group of buddies waiting for you to come back with their beer." She explained as she nodded towards the group of guys in the corner. Kris looked back over his shoulder at this buddies and then back at Casey.

"Can I borrow your pen?" He asked. She gave it to him and he proceeded to write something on a napkin before sliding it towards her. "My number. In case you ever figure out how to tell that story."

* * *

><p>"I wreck everything I touch." Steve whispered to himself as he watched the steady mechanical rise and fall of his daughter's chest with every assisted breath.<p>

"What?" Danny asked, rubbing his eyes roughing.

Both men were exhausted. They had been at the hospital for almost three straight days with only limited breaks. The decision was made to put Makayla on the steroids to try to keep from causing any permanent brain damage. Now it was a waiting game to see whether they would work or whether they would cause more harm than good.

"That movie we were watching with Grace a few weekends ago, in it the little girl tells the blue alien dog thing that he wrecks everything he touches…that's me. I ruin everything touch, it's like a curse." Steve explained.

"That is not true, Steven. You are not cursed, and you don't wreck everything you touch. Look at me, you haven't ruined me." Danny pointed out.

"Not yet. But how many times have you gotten hurt because of me?"

"It's not because of you. It's the job babe. I know I tend to bitch about it a lot but in reality, I am in no more danger being with you than I am with any other cop. Hell, I'm probably better off having you around than not."

"I just can't help but feel like this is just one more thing that I'm being punished for. That this sweet little baby has to suffer just because she's carries the McGarrett name."

"Okay stop, just stop alright? Yes Makayla is a McGarrett but she's also a Williams. And we have our own brand of suffering, alright? So don't think you've cornered the market on problems. But if our daughter is anything like you, which she's certainly shown signs of it, she's going to fight this and be fine. She'll be back to driving us both crazy in a few weeks." Danny explained, running his hands through his hair.

"You really think you're better off with me around?" Steve asked and Danny could see the doubt in his partner's eyes.

"Babe, if I didn't, I wouldn't have married you." Danny replied honestly. "I promise that we'll get through this. Just like we always do."


	13. The Light at the End of the Tunnel

_The Light at the End of the Tunnel... is a High Speed Train_

Steve ran his hands roughly over his face as he settled into the recliner next to Makayla's crib. It had been over two weeks since the baby had first gotten sick and finally they were starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. The steroids had done their job to help reduce the swelling in her brain and the stronger antibiotics were fighting the raging infection to a point where they were actually seeing improvement in Makayla's condition.

The latest EEG had shown increased brain activity and she was being weaned off the ventilator since she was taking a few breaths on her own without assistance. The doctors said that if things continued to look good they might be able to take her off the ventilator by tomorrow. It felt like a huge victory to Steve and Danny considering how grim things had looked nearly a week ago. They knew that there was still a possibility for long term complications such as neurological and physical deficits, but they could deal with those things as long as their daughter was still alive.

Since Makayla was starting to do better, Steve had suggested that Danny spend the day with Grace as he was scheduled to. Grace was having a hard time as it with feeling slightly neglected by Rachel with the pending arrival of another new sibling and it wouldn't do her any good if they made it seem like Makayla was more important than her regards of the situation. So Steve had arrived at the hospital alone that morning while Danny and Grace played at the beach.

"Hey Mak," Steve whispered as he gently stroked her head. "I know you've been fighting so hard to get better. You're doing so good. You just need to hold on a little longer, alright? Daddy can't wait to see your pretty blue eyes again." Makayla's eyes fluttered under the lids and it gave him hope that she could hear what he was telling her. He continued to stroke her silky soft hair until a knock on the door disrupted them.

"Commander McGarrett?" Steve turned towards the door where he noticed one of the doctors standing there.

"Yes?" He answered cautiously. He had seen this woman before with some of the other doctors but all of the medical professionals were starting to look the same to him.

"I'm Dr. Cassandra Emersen, I'm the head of the Infectious Disease department here at the hospital." She stated as she came to stand before him. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about your daughter's condition?"

"Of course." Steve nodded and gestured towards the other chair in the room. She smiled slightly in thanks as she sat.

"I was recently brought onto Makayla's case after Dr. Ross found some things that didn't add up." She stated and Steve was instantly on alert. "Normally when anyone, especially a child, comes in with meningitis we take a through history so that we can go back and trace their movements in order to determine whether they are part of an epidemic or if it's an isolated incident. From what we gathered, it seems like Makayla's is an isolated case." She began to explain.

"So what's the problem?" Steve asked, not sure what the doctor was trying to tell him.

"When Makayla's condition deteriorated, Dr. Ross ran a multitude of blood tests to determine what strain of bacteria was causing the infection so that he could use more targeted medication. The results that came back raised some red flags." Dr. Emersen frowned. Steve's gut churned as a sense of dread washed over him.

"How bad is it?" He asked, voice raw as he tried to control his worry.

"Our lab was unable to determine the specific strain so we sent a sample to the CDC for further analysis. According to their findings, the bacteria that's causing your daughter's illness is one that's similar to those found in several Asian countries but there wasn't an exact match because this strain had been…modified." She added almost reluctantly. Steve's heart stopped and then began to race.

"Modified?" He repeated. She nodded. "How?"

"Apparently it's been genetically altered to be…more lethal. It's supposed to be more resistant to antibiotics which is why we had such a hard time treating it. The CDC's never seen this strain before but they did offer a treatment plan that we've been using and it has been working." Dr. Emersen said, offering some optimism. It was lost on Steve whose mind was racing.

"So what you're saying is that someone targeted my daughter with this genetically altered strain and made her sick?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"It would seem that way." The doctor agreed hesitantly. "I would have thought it absurd but yours and your partner's reputation precede you. I'm sorry Commander." She said sincerely. Steve rubbed a hand over his mouth as he tried not to be sick.

"You can still make her better, can't you?"

"The medications that we have her on right now appear to be working and she should recover from this but there is still a possibility for long term complications-"

"I'm not worried about that right now." Steve snapped. "All I want to know is that she'll survive."

"With the improvements we've seen I don't see any reason why she shouldn't survive." Dr. Emersen assessed.

"Good." He said, letting out the breath he was holding. "Would it be possible to send everything you have over the HPD lab?" He requested. She nodded as she stood.

"I'll get right on it." She assured.

"Thank you." Steve shook her hand. He then waited until she was out of the room before he pulled out his cell and dialed the familiar number. "Chin, it's me. I need you to meet me at the office. We've got a problem."

**a/n:** Who saw that one coming?


	14. No One Hurts Me and Goes Free

**a/n: **I caught you all of guard with that last chapter didn't I? I know I'm being awfully mean to poor Makayla but I promise that she'll be okay. Her daddies on the other hand…well let's just say their suffering isn't quite over yet.

_I've heard it said that to err is human, that forgiveness is divine. I thought about forgiving you but, I want revenge, I want what's mine. I think it's time to settle scores now. It's time to set the record straight. You'll know it's coming, you won't know how or when. You'll have to watch and wait.—Red Delicious_

"Jesus Steve, are you sure?" Chin asked, blowing out a breath as he sat in front of Steve's desk. His boss had just explained what he'd learned at the hospital and to say that Chin was stunned was an understatement.

"There's no other explanation." Steve stated.

"Any idea who might be responsible?" Chin questioned. Steve gave him a hauntingly knowing look and the older man frowned. "You don't think-"

"I do." Steve declared immediately. "But what I want to know is-how did he get to her? Everyone in Makayla's life is someone we know and trust." He wondered.

"What did Danny have to say about all of this?" Chin asked , curious about the other father's reaction to the news. Steve didn't say anything. "You did tell him, right?" Chin demanded, eyes going wide as Steve looked away. "Steve!"

"He's out with Gracie right now at the beach and I didn't want to call and drop this on him and ruin their day." Steve offered weakly.

"Ruin their day?" Chin exclaimed. "He had the right to know, Steve! Makayla is his child too!"

"I know, alright?" Steve snapped. "But I also know that this information will send him off into the deep end. Danny sees red when his girls are threatened or endangered." He pointed out.

"And you don't?" Chin said knowingly.

"I need Danny to be the level headed one right now." Steve informed. Any other time he would have found the idea of Danny being level headed amusing but nothing was funny about this situation.

"What are you going to do?" Chin demanded.

"Don't worry about it. Just know that this ends now. Wo Fat has already taken my mother and my father. I won't let him take my child too." Steve declared. Chin looked decidedly worried.

"Whatever it is you're planning on doing, stop and really think about it. Wo Fat doesn't play fair. Is going after him worth dying for? Because it's a definite possibility." He reminded.

"Chin, he tried to kill my daughter! He went after my defenseless seven month old daughter. It's obvious that he doesn't fight fair and now neither am I. I'm gonna hunt this son of a bitch down and I'm going to end this once and for all." Steve exclaimed, his eyes shimmering with rage.

"You need to tell Danny. If for no other reason than that he's your partner, your back up." Chin insisted in an almost desperate manner. Steve shook his head.

"Right now, the less Danny knows the better." Steve stated. He wanted his partner to have plausible deniability so that when he said he didn't know anything, he truly didn't know. That way if things went bad at least the girls still had a father. "Promise me you won't say anything him to him. At least not yet." Steve demanded.

"How am I supposed to keep this from him?" Chin pleaded. He didn't know how he was supposed to look his friend in the eye, especially if Steve went and did something stupid which seemed extremely likely right now.

"Please Chin. I'm doing this for Danny's own good." Steve pleaded.

"What are you going to do?" Chin repeated, this time with more urgency. Steve looked right at him with one of the most frightening looks Chin had ever seen in his eyes. It was a look of cold, calculated homicidal rage.

"I'm going to kill him, Chin. I'm going to hunt his ass down and then I'm going to kill him."

* * *

><p>Danny was slightly concerned when he stopped by the hospital later that day and Steve wasn't there. He had spent the day with Grace who had wanted to come with him to see her baby sister but Danny figured it might be a little too much for her to see Makayla hooked up to all the machines. So he dropped her back off with Rachel with a promise that he would bring her around when the baby wasn't so sick.<p>

Steve was supposed to be at the hospital with their other child. It wasn't that Makayla necessarily needed them to be with her at all times. She was sedated and didn't know if she was alone or not but they knew and it didn't feel right to not have someone by her side during the day.

"Hey Mel, where's Steve?" Danny asked the day nurse as she came in to do her hourly check of the infant's vitals.

"I don't know. I saw him come in this morning but then he got a phone call or something because he took off and I haven't seen him back since." She said, shrugging as she recorded the necessary information.

"That's weird." Danny muttered as he pulled out his own phone. He dialed Steve and waited four rings before he answered.

"McGarrett."

"Hey babe, where are you?" Danny asked, trying to keep his voice light. There was silence on the other end of a minute and Danny's concern began to grow.

"I'm at the Palace." Steve replied somewhat hesitantly.

"You went to work?" Danny exclaimed.

It didn't make sense. Ever since Makayla had first gotten sick, it had been impossible to tear Steve away from their daughter's side and now he was voluntarily going into work? Something didn't sit right with Danny.

"Something came up." Steve said, offering no further explanation.

"Why didn't you call me?" Danny questioned.

"You were with Grace, I didn't want to bother you. Anyways, I'm on my way over to the hospital now." Steve declared, as if to say that the conversation was over. Danny frowned.

"Alright, I'll see you when you get here." He answered before they both said goodbye.

Danny's gut churned as he sunk into the recliner by the crib. Steve was up to something, that much he was sure of. And Steve clearly didn't want him to know about it either which just made Danny all the more suspicious.


	15. What a Tangled Web We Weave

**A/n: ** I know this is a very short chapter but the next one is a very long chapter, I promise. I've decided to kind of go along with what has happened so far in season two but not really if that makes any sense. It'll be clearer over the next few chapters. I know I haven't mentioned Jenna before but let's just assume they worked with her in the time between "Aloha Oe" and "Aloha Kakuo".

_Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive-Sir Walter Scott_

Steve should be happy.

After nearly a month in the hospital, Makayla was finally coming home. It would be awhile before she was given a completely clean bill of health and the doctors would have continue to monitor her development over the next few years for long term complications but they had declared her well enough to be discharged since she no longer needed the assistance of the IVs and machines that had been the only thing keeping her alive not long ago. It was a reason to celebrate. Chin, Kono and the rest of their ohana had met them at the house for a surprise homecoming party, all of them grateful for the infant's recovery.

It should have been a time to give thanks for the fact that his daughter had been snatched back from the brink of death at seemingly the final hour. It should have been an opportunity to tell everyone how wonderful their support had been during this trying time. Chin and Kono had been their rocks at times, bringing them meals or spelling them at Makayla's bedside when they needed a break. It should have been a joyous occasion. But Steve was having a hard time finding the joy right now.

His thoughts had been consumed with revenge ever since he had learned that Makayla's illness had been no accident. He knew Wo Fat was behind it. He had a proven track record of going after Steve's family as a way to get to him. Plus he was the only one sick enough to try to kill a baby. The problem was proving it. The bastard was too smart to do it himself. Which meant that he had an accomplice. Someone who had gotten close enough to his daughter to get her sick. It was one of the things that bothered Steve most about the whole situation. Someone had gotten close enough to Makayla without him or Danny knowing about it. It was a mistake Steve wasn't going to make again.

His suddenly suspicious behavior didn't go unnoticed by his fabulous detective of a husband. He frequently caught Danny giving him odd looks out of the corner of his eye as he disappeared to take a phone call or stayed up late to work on a lead. Steve willed himself to ignore it. Danny may be irritated with his behavior now but Steve reminded himself that it was for the best. This was _his _vendetta with Wo Fat and _he _was going to end it once and for all.

"Glorious day isn't it?" Vivie commented as she came to stand next to Steve in the living room. "I'm so happy that she made it through alright. She's such a precious child." She added as she watched Kono gently cradle the baby in her arms.

"Yeah." Steve agreed, distracted.

"Is everything alright? You seem troubled by something?" Vivie asked, concerned.

"I'm just tired. It's been awhile since I had a decent night's sleep." He replied. It wasn't a total lie. He hadn't been sleep but for different reasons now.

"Well, nothing to worry about now. Life can go back to normal." She reassured, patting his arm before walking away. It wasn't long before Chin replaced her at Steve's side.

"You find anything yet?" He asked, keeping his voice low. Steve shook his head.

"I've got Jenna and a couple buddies of mine from the Navy looking into a few leads but nothing tangible yet." He responded. Chin nodded.

"Danny doesn't seem fooled." He said casually. Steve just looked at him.

"I've got it under control." He stated calmly. Chin scoffed.

"For now." He muttered under his breath.

"Chin..." Steve warned.

"I'm just saying that when this blows up, and it is a matter of when not if, it's going to be massive. Are you sure you can pick up the pieces and put them back together again in the aftermath?" Chin asked, not expecting a real answer.

"Danny and I will be fine." Steve declared. Chin just looked at him.

"I really hope so, Steve. And not just for your guys sake."


	16. When We First Practice to Deceive

**A/n: **I know, Steve's a stupid jerk for not telling Danny. Guess what? He's not getting any smarter. _Crockettsgirl_-this part of the story would be the rising action or tension in the dramatic structure of fictional writing. I think tension is a good way to describe things right now. And _Sweeteetwo_- "Steve should tell Danno what he is planning because whatever he is planning is going to include big bangs of fire exploding and cars chases so Danny is going to be mad". You know our boys soo well :)

_And there's something I can't see. There's something different in the way you smile. Behind those eyes you lie. And there's nothing I can say, cause I'm never gonna change your mind. Behind those eyes you hide- 3 Doors Down, Behind Those Eyes_

"Makayla I swear you have gotten more food on your face and clothes than in your mouth." Danny laughed as the baby dodged the spoon again, smearing oatmeal across her cheek.

He would never take a hungry child for granted again. The meningitis had taken away Makayla's appetite and she had been placed on IV fluids and a feeding tube while she was in the hospital to keep her nourished in some way. Still she had lost quite a bit of weight and was close to being back at her birth weight by the time she was discharged. The doctors had encouraged them to feed her as often as possible to try to get her back up to a normal weight for her age.

"Come on Kay, open your mouth for Danno." He requested. Makayla opened her mouth for the spoon, took a bite and then promptly spit most of it back out. They were slowly starting to reintroduce more solid food into her diet and she was being decidedly stubborn about it. "Alright cheeky girl, you win. Dinner time is over." Danny declared, admitting defeat as he scraped the bits of oatmeal off her cheeks. Makayla hummed happily at this announcement which caused Danny to laugh harder.

"You're a messy girl, Kay. I think it's Daddy's turn to give you a bath tonight." He decided with a smirk. Steve was going to have fun trying to get the oatmeal out of her hair.

Makayla squealed as Danny lifted her out of her chair and carried her backwards down the hall towards the office where Steve had raced off when his phone rang during dinner. Danny was not pleased to say the least. They had been late getting home from work and he had wanted to spend time together as a family but his partner had ruined those plans.

"Steven! You're on clean up duty." He called out as he opened the door. Steve looked up in surprise from the file open on his desk-actions that didn't go unnoticed by Danny.

"What's up?" Steve asked, sounding casual.

"Your daughter needs a bath." Danny declared as he walked in the room holding the baby out towards his partner.

"Why is she only _my _daughter when she's messy?" Steve asked, taking Makayla into his arms. He stood her up on his lap and she placed a sticky hand on his cheek. "Thanks Mak." He grimaced.

"Because you're the clean freak around here." Danny informed. "Besides, I made dinner and fed her while you were in here doing god knows what, so it's only fair that you clean her up." He shrugged. Steve just looked at him as he stood and started to carry the baby out of the room.

"Alright Mak, you heard Danno, bath time it is. You really are a mess, aren't you?" He commented as they disappeared upstairs.

Danny stayed behind and headed back to the kitchen to clean up. As he wiped down the high chair and washed the dishes, his mind began to wander. Steve had been distant lately. Danny knew what they had been through with Makayla's illness hadn't been easy on their relationship but he thought they had come out of the whole ordeal stronger for it. And the timing didn't make sense. Steve started pulling away as Makayla was getting better-not worse. Danny had seen this kind of behavior from him before. It was how he got when he had a case he couldn't let go. He would get distracted and standoffish as he tried to plot how to get the one who got away. Danny hated when Steve acted like this and his partner knew it. But as far as Danny knew, they weren't working on any cases like that. Or at least, 5-0 wasn't. He was starting to get the sinking feeling that Steve was working on something on his own and that just didn't sit well with Danny. He had to confront him about this. He couldn't go on in the dark any longer.

Upstairs, Danny could vaguely hear Makayla laughing. It was a sound to be savored after so many sleepless nights wondering if they'd ever hear it again. Danny tossed the dish towel aside and headed upstairs to join his family. The sight that greeted him in the bathroom brought a smile to his face. Makayla was squealing in delight in her bath chair, splashing water everywhere while Steve sat on the floor next to the tub, singing to her as he guided her rubber duck through the water.

"..._Rubber Ducky joy of joy, when I squeak you you make noise! Rubber Ducky I'm awfully fond of you..." _Steve sang as he gave the duck a squeeze. It squeaked and sent Makayla into another fit of giggles.

"Oh babe if your SEAL buddies could see you know." Danny laughed as he leaned against the doorjamb watching them.

Steve just smirked at them over his shoulder as he continued to sing. When he had finished the song, he gave the duck one last squeeze before giving the baby a final rinse. He then grabbed her towel which had a Whinnie the Pooh hood and wrapped her up in it.

"Hey, there's my pretty girl. I thought you'd been replaced by the oatmeal monster." Danny cooed as they passed him in the doorway.

He followed them down the hall to the nursery where Steve carried Makayla over to the changing table and began to put her diaper on. Danny remained in the doorway just watching the two of the interact. Steve was always a good father even when he wasn't the best husband. When Steve was finished, he walked her over to the rocker and sat down to read her a story. Not wanting to invade on their moment, Danny went downstairs to lock up before heading back up to their bedroom to change. He had just pulled a loose tee over his head when Steve came in.

"She go down alright?" He asked as Steve headed over to his dresser.

"Yeah, she didn't fight me too hard." He stated as he pulled off his damp shirt.

"That's good." Danny replied lightly as Steve changed into his sweatpants. "So do you want to tell me what the hell has you so preoccupied lately or do you want to lie to me a little longer?" He suddenly blurted out. Steve just looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" He asked slowly, looking at the other man as if he'd just spoken Russian.

"I'm talking about whatever it is that's had you so distracted the last few weeks." Danny stated.

"I haven't been-"

"Bullshit Steven!" He exclaimed. "You have been preoccupied with _something _since before Makayla was discharged and I'm tired of being in the dark about it. We're supposed to be partners, both on and off the job." Danny accused.

"We _are _partners." Steve insisted forcefully as he turned to look at him.

"Then why are you keeping things from me?" Danny questioned.

"I'm not keeping anything from you." Steve sighed, breaking eye contact.

"Like hell you're not! You think I'm stupid all of a sudden? Not only am I a very good detective but _I know you Steven. _Which means I know when you're lying to me, like right now for instance." Danny pointed out. He was getting angry which was only bound to make Steve angry but he was hard pressed to care. This had gone on long enough.

"I need you to trust me-" Steve insisted.

"Trust you? How am I supposed to trust you when you obviously don't trust me?" Steve looked at him with a bewildered expression (**a/n: ** think "I wasn't going to kill him" face from 'Ohana" 1x02).

"What? Of course I trust you!" He exclaimed.

"Then why can't you tell me what's going on?" Danny shouted.

"Because it doesn't concern you!" Steve shouted back.

"See? There you go lying again. I think it does concern me or you wouldn't be acting like this." Danny pointed out. Steve tossed his hands in the air.

"Why are you being like this?"

"No," Danny shook a finger at him. "It is not my behavior that is in question. It's yours."

"I'm not doing anything wrong!" Steve yelled.

"Then why are you sneaking around and acting all suspicious? Are you having an affair?" Danny didn't think that was it but he'd been fooled once before. Steve leveled him with a glare.

"I'm not Rachel." He reminded.

"Then stop acting like her." Danny shouted. A whimper came over the baby monitor followed by a small cry. Steve gave Danny a look.

"You know what? I'm done. I'm not indulging your paranoia anymore. I'm not doing anything that you need to be worried about." Steve declared as he headed towards the bedroom door to go get the crying Makayla.

"So you are up to something?" Danny asked, catching Steve's slip. He followed him to the door.

"Damn it, Danny. You don't give up do you?" Steve huffed as he headed down the hall.

"No, I don't. You know that." Danny said crossing his arms over his chest. Steve just rolled his eyes and shook his head as he disappeared into the nursery again.

Danny went back into the bedroom and sat down heavily on the bed. Steve was lying to him. It was a familiar hollow feeling in his gut. He just couldn't understand what could be so important that his partner would risk their relationship over it.


	17. Tension

**A/n:** So this might be my only update for a few days. I'm going out of town and my computer has a virus so I can't bring it with me. Not sure what my computer access will be like. But there's still plenty to come. I was at least kind enough not to leave you with a major cliffhanger...but I could have.

_You lie, you don't want to hurt me so you lie, buy a little time. And I go along, what else can I do? Maybe it's wrong but you know how much I love you, so you lie.-Reba McEntire, You Lie._

_**"why are you keeping things from me?"**_

_**"I know you Steven. Which means I know when you're lying to me."**_

_**"why can't you tell me what's going on?"**_

_**" We're supposed to be partners"**_

Steve gripped the handle bar of the stroller a little tighter as he tried to control his breathing. Danny's words had been playing over and over again in his head all night. He'd given up on trying to sleep around dawn and decided to go for a run. Makayla had woken up as he was getting ready to leave so he brought her along with him in the jogging stroller. It was something they hadn't done in awhile and she was happy to ride along, babbling the whole time about seemingly nothing.

Steve, however, was having a hard time concentrating on his breathing because his mind kept replaying last night's fight. He hated lying to Danny. His chest felt tight with guilt that didn't loosen no matter how many times he justified it all in his head. Steve was hurting his partner but the truth wouldn't make the pain go away now. He slowed down the pace of his run and Makayla squealed in annoyance. He pulled the stroller off to the side of the trail and came around to kneel in front of his daughter.

"Sorry Mak, Daddy needed a breather." He stated. She just looked at him with her big blue eyes as she sucked on her pacifier. "I bet it all seems so simple from your point of view." He said, looking out at the beautiful scenery around them . "I wish it was, Mak. But there's a lot of bad people out there that want to hurt you-and did."

Steve brushed a hand over her head gently and laid a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm so sorry about that. But I'm going to make sure no one hurts you or Gracie ever again. I know Danno doesn't understand but I have to protect him too. I can't lose you guys. You're everything to me." He whispered.

Makayla reached out and placed a hand on his cheek as if to comfort him and he smiled.

"Thanks Mak. I'm glad you understand. Let's just hope that Danno does too someday." Steve gave his daughter another kiss before rising and grabbing the handle bar again.

He kept a slower pace going home and Makayla was asleep by the time they got home. Danny was waiting for them on the lanai with a cup of coffee and a sad expression that Steve knew he was responsible for.

"Jenna called." He announced as Steve knelt to take Makayla out of her stroller. Steve's hands stilled for a second on the buckles.

"What did she want?" He asked, willing himself not to sound nervous as he focused on the baby in front of him.

"She didn't tell me. Just said it was important." Danny said bitterly. Steve let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Oh."

"Are you working for the CIA?" Danny asked and Steve knew he had two choices-deny it and have Danny continue to question his behavior or take the out his partner was inadvertently handing him. He took a deep breath, said a silent prayer and went with option number two.

"You know I can't tell you that." He replied.

"Hmm." Danny frowned. "Here, give her to me. You should call Jenna back." He said, holding out his arms for the sleeping child.

Steve could see the sadness in Danny's eyes and his chest got a little tighter. He placed one more kiss on Makayla's head and then leaned over and placed one on Danny's head too. The shorter man closed his eyes as if he were in pain before heading inside. Steve rubbed a hand roughly over his face and swallowed thickly before pulling out his cell.

"Kaye."

"Jenna. It's Steve."

"Oh Steve, I'm so sorry. I called earlier and Danny answered. I didn't tell him anything. Does he suspect something?" She asked, sounding worried.

"No more than he already did. Did you find something?" He replied, staring into the house.

"I think so. Can we meet? I have something I think you need to see."

* * *

><p>The tension in the car was thick enough to cut with a machete. Steve drove, one hand on the steering wheel, the other hand propping his head up on the window sill. Danny sat uncomfortably in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead.<p>

"You know my trip with Grace is next week." Danny said, breaking the silence.

"That's right. You're taking her to New York for her birthday." Steve replied.

"Yeah...and I'm wondering if I should take Makayla with me." Danny said hesitantly. Steve looked over at him.

"Why?"

"Well that way you'd be able to focus on whatever it is you're working on without any distractions." He explained. Steve frowned.

"Makayla's not a distraction and this trip was supposed to be all about Grace. You should keep it that way. We'll be fine here for a few days." Steve assured. Danny nodded.

"Maybe a few days away from each other will do us some good too." He added quietly.

"Danny," Steve said, sounding hurt. "What do I have to do to get you to trust me?"

"Tell me the truth. Until you can do that, the tension between us goes unresolved." Danny answered honestly as they pulled up in front of the Palace. Steve just looked at Danny, unable to speak. "That's what I thought. I'll see you later. Tell Jenna I said hi." Danny added softly as he got out of the car.

Steve just watched him through the rearview mirror as he drove away with a heavy heart.


	18. Chasing Demons

**A/n: **I'm back! This is just some filler to continue the plot. It's going get really good here soon. Of course, that doesn't mean Steve's going to get any smarter any time soon...

_When I'm not chasing demons, there's demons chasing me.-Kenny Chesney, Demons_

"What's going on with Steve and Danny?" Kono asked Chin as they watched Danny disappear into his office with a sorrowful expression.

She had noticed an unexplained tension between the two senior members of the team for awhile now but had just written it off to leftover issues from Makayla being ill. Now it seemed as though things had gotten worse between the two men. Kono turned to her cousin who looked uneasy.

"What is it, Chin?"

"It's nothing Kono. Just a little spat between spouses. They'll work through it." He assured. He wanted to tell her the truth but he knew she'd have no problem turning around and telling Danny what was going on. Kono didn't look convinced.

"It must be a pretty serious spat for Danny to be walking around with the worst kicked puppy expression I've ever seen. Even worse than when Steve was deployed." She paused for a moment as she thought about what she'd said and then suddenly looked panicked. "Steve's not getting deployed again is he?"

"No." Chin stated. "It's just a disagreement. They'll be fine." _'or so I've been told' _Chin thought to himself.

"I sure hope so Cuz. There's an awful lot for them to lose if things go bad." Kono commented as she headed off to her office. Chin just sighed.

He should have never agreed to keep Steve's secret.

* * *

><p>"Wo Fat has gone underground again, most likely somewhere in Central Asia which makes finding him nearly impossible so I've been working on trying to find his accomplice in the mean time." Jenna declared as they sat outside of Kamekona's shrimp truck. "We know he has no problem contracting out people to do his dirty work for him-Hiro and his brother and Victor Hesse-to name a few."<p>

"The people he had kill my parents." Steve said grimly.

"Right." She frowned. "We also know that once he finds his accomplice to be of no value to him anymore he disposes of them. So we need to find whoever he's hired before he takes them out." She explained.

"How do we know he's done? What's to say that he won't try again?" He asked.

"He won't. He's gotten your attention and he knows you'll be on heightened alert. He won't go after Makayla again." Jenna said confidently.

"What about Danny and Grace?" Steve questioned.

"From what I can tell, Makayla's illness was about getting your attention. He wants you, but he's also not afraid of collateral damage." She stated.

"Okay, so how do we find the accomplice?"

"I figure it has to be someone under the radar or else you and Danny would have been suspicious. So I'm going back through his known associates focusing on the women-"

"Whoa wait, why the women?" Steve inquired.

"Women have easier access to children. No one is going to think twice about a woman with a baby, even if it was just a brief one time encounter." She pointed out. Steve rubbed a hand over his mouth.

"Is there anyone is particular who stands out?"

"Wo Fat doesn't keep a lot of female company so it's a narrow list. There's a Russian and a Chinese spy that he's worked with before, the wives of a few high ranking Yakuza members but no one who really stands out except one-Layla David, an Israeli national." Jenna explained.

"Israeli-Mossad?" He wondered.

"Suspected." She nodded. "I'm waiting for confirmation on her identity."

"What's Wo Fat doing working with the Israeli's?" Steve asked, confused.

"He's not picky about who he works with so long as they can get the job done." Jenna reminded. "If Layla is Mossad, she's probably a double agent."

"Great." He muttered. There was a moment of silence between the two before Jenna broke it.

"I know it's not my place to interfere in your relationship but why haven't you told Danny? He sounded pretty upset this morning on the phone." She said. Steve sighed.

"At this point, telling him won't make things better. It's better to let him think it was just something that happened instead of a targeted attack. If he knew that, he'd want revenge as bad as me and right now the girls don't need two parents who are consumed with this. It's my vendetta and I'm going to end it." He declared with a shrug. Jenna smiled sadly.

"Or die trying."


	19. The One I'm Living With

**A/n: **The good thing is, my computer is fixed! The bad thing is, school has started again. But I promise somewhere between reading ancient Greek philosophy and stumbling my way through computer design, I will get this story done!

_I don't want to live without you but I can't go on like this. Torn between the man I love and the one I'm living with. It's a conflict of emotion, to my heart I must be true. I know that I need you but you have to need me too. So if you wake up and miss me in your life, you'll find me. -Diamond Rio, You'll Find Me_

Steve couldn't watch Danny pack for his trip.

His mind was playing cruel tricks on him trying to make him believe that his partner was leaving him for good. _'No, he wouldn't leave Makayla behind like that'. _He repeated over and over in his head as he screwed the cap on a bottle of juice. He had stayed downstairs to finish feeding the baby while Danny packed his last few things upstairs. They had to leave soon to pick up Grace before Steve dropped them off at the airport for their evening flight to New York.

While he had encouraged Danny not to cancel the trip for Grace's sake, Steve still had his concerns about him and Danny being separated right now. He knew his silence was screwing things up and more than once he had tried to tell Danny the truth this past week but the words always stuck in his throat, threatening to choke him if he let them out. So he just swallowed them back down while the guilt churned in his gut.

"Steve? Are you ready to go?" Danny shouted from upstairs, shaking Steve from his thoughts.

"Yeah, I just need to put Makayla in the car seat and we can go." He shouted back as he lifted the baby from her high chair.

He handed her the bottle he had prepared and she promptly put it in her mouth as he place her in the carrier that was sitting on the counter. Danny had already changed her into a soft yellow onesie with baby blue ducks on it, knowing that as soon as they put her in the car and started driving she would fall asleep. Steve had just finished buckling Makayla in when Danny came trudging downstairs with his suitcase.

"You ready?" Danny asked again.

Steve wanted to say no but he just nodded his head instead as he took the suitcase from Danny who in turn grabbed the carrier off the counter. They headed out to the truck, where Steve tossed the suitcase in the bed of the truck while Danny strapped the car seat in the backseat. The drive to Rachel's was mostly filled with an awkward silence and the occasional soft coo from Makayla as she lazily sucked on her bottle.

"Are you going to go see your parents while you're out there?" Steve asked, trying to start some kind of conversation.

"Yeah," Danny replied. "Ma's disappointed that we're not all coming but I told her that Makayla isn't ready to make that trip yet." It wasn't a total lie but it wasn't the whole truth either.

"When she's older, we'll all go-make a family vacation out of it. You can show her around all the places you knew as a kid and take her to Yankee Stadium to teach her all about baseball." Steve vowed, staring straight ahead so Danny couldn't see the emotions that were betraying him in his eyes. Danny just looked at him for a long minute.

"I think that's a great idea, babe." He agreed softly.

The silence in the truck resumed until they had picked up Grace who happily prattled on about their trip and all the things they had planned. It was a mostly one sided conversation as her fathers were preoccupied with their thoughts.

Makayla had fallen asleep by the time they reached the airport so Steve carried her carefully in one arm and held onto one of the suitcases with the other while Danny checked him and Grace in. Their badges allowed them to expedite the security process and let Steve through so he could follow them to the gate.

It was a scene he'd played out too many times in his life-standing at an airport gate saying goodbye to someone he really didn't want to see go. _'This time is different' _Steve reminded himself. _'Danny and Grace are coming back again.' _The announcement to begin boarding rang out over the speakers and Danny took a few steps closer so that he stood in front of Steve, just barely touching him. It was the closest they had been in days.

"Bye baby girl. Danno loves you." He whispered as he softly kissed Makayla's head. He then looked up at his partner, who had his head bowed slightly.

"I don't want you to leave like this." Steve stated quietly as he leaned his forehead against Danny's.

"I don't either. But I can't go on like this, Steve. I'm torn between the man I love and the one I've been living with this past month. Hopefully when I get back, the man I married will be here waiting for me." Danny said softly. Steve closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"I know you are." Danny replied. "I'll see you when we get back."

"I love you." Steve said, placing a gentle kiss on his partner's lips.

"I love you too." Danny responded with a kiss of his own.

They broke away as the announcement for final boarding was made. Steve bent down and gave Grace a one armed hug and a kiss.

"I love you Steve." She said as she kissed his cheek.

"I love you too Gracie. You take care of Danno for me alright?" He requested. She nodded and gave him another hug before going to stand by her father. "Call me when you get into New York. I don't care about the time difference, just let me know you got in safely."

"You're going to care if I call and wake up the baby." Danny pointed out with a smirk. Steve gave him a look.

"Just call me, alright?"

"Aye aye Commander." Danny joked, adding a mock salute in for effect but Steve knew it was all an act for Grace's sake. The last thing she needed was to watch another set of parents fight.

Danny took his daughter's hand and began to lead her away. Steve stood and swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Grace give him one last wave before the two disappeared down the jetway.

"I'm going to make things right Mak." He declared, kissing the top of the sleeping child's head. "One way or another I'm going to make things right."


	20. You'll Never Rest Easy Again

**A/n: **And the plot thickens….

_I'll play on your fears, I'll leave you in tears. You'll never be the same my friend. You're walking a line, it's a matter of time. You'll never rest easy again.—Red Delicious. _

"Good morning." Chin said poking his head into Steve's office the next morning. The younger man glanced up at him briefly and grunted something that sounded like an attempt at a reply as he continued to dig around for something on his desk. His slightly disheveled appearance and slightly harried look on his face didn't go unnoticed either. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." Steve declared distractedly. "It's just been kind of a crazy morning." He added with a a half shrug.

Crazy didn't actually even begin to describe the morning he had had so far. The insanity had really started the night before when he returned home from the airport. Makayla had woken up as Steve was trying to take her back into the house around 8pm and she had refused to go back to sleep every time he tried to put her down. He gave up trying around midnight and placed her in the portable crib in the master bedroom, figuring she'd eventually fall asleep. Then his phone rang at 2am. It was Danny calling as he requested to let him know that they had made it in okay and were checking into their hote(it was 7am eastern time)l. As predicted, the phone call woke Makayla up and it was close to 3am before they both fell back asleep.

Exhausted, Steve slept through his alarm and didn't get up until 6am- when Danny's alarm went off. This meant that he didn't have time for his normal morning workout and had to rush through getting both himself and Makayla ready for the day. He left the house fifteen minutes late because he had to wait for Vivie who was late arriving at the house. On his way into work, he got a call from Dr. Emersen who wanted to meet with him about something she didn't want to discuss over the phone. And then to top everything off, once he finally got to the office there was a message waiting for him from the Governor demanding this month's budget report. The report that he now could not find. It was not starting out to be a very good day and if things continued at this pace, Steve didn't hold out much hope for the rest of the week.

"Is there something I can help you find?" Chin offered, seeing that Steve was making little progress in his search.

"I can't find the budget report that I had right here on my desk yesterday." Steve said, slighly irritated.

"I'm pretty sure I saw Danny working on it before he left last night." Chin replied cautiously. Steve stopped and huffed a sigh.

"Of course he was." He muttered. Danny always checked over the final report to make sure that Steve had filled everything out properly.

"Did he and Grace get off alright last night?" Chin asked.

"Yeah. He called me this morning when they got in." Steve answered in a clipped tone.

"Forgive my boldness, but does this trip have anything to do with what's been going on between you two recently?" Chin questioned.

"No!" Steve said forcefully. "Danny promised Grace he'd take her out there for her birthday, that's all." He added, slightly calmer. Chin just nodded as Kono popped her head into the office.

"Boss? There's a lady here to see you. A Dr. Cassandra Emersen?" She said. Steve nodded.

"Thanks Kono, can you send her in?" He requested.

"Of course…hey is everything okay?" She inquired with a frown.

"Everything is fine!" Steve exclaimed.

"Okay, if you say so…but your shirt is on inside out." She replied with a smirk as she disappeared again. Chin jusst gave Steve a look as he bit back a smile and left the office. Steve quickly fixed his button up shirt as Kono showed Dr. Emersen in.

"Commander McGarrett, thank you for meeting with me on such short notice." She said as she shook his hand.

"It's not a problem. It sounded like something urgent. Is everything okay? Is something wrong with Makayla's latest test results?" Steve asked as he gestured for her to take a seat in one of his guest chairs.

"Oh no! Makayla is fine. I'm sorry. I should have prefaced my earlier call with that. My apologizes if I caused you any distress." She stated, the worry bringing out the slight accent in her voice that Steve hadn't noticed before.

"It's alright." He assured, silently relieved. The last thing he wanted to deal with right now was Makayla relapsing . "You said you had something you needed to talk to me about?" He said, taking a seat on the edge of his desk.

"You're probably going to think I'm crazy but ever since I gave you my findings regarding your daughter's illness…strange things have been happening to me. I thought at first I was just being paranoid because of what I had told you but…"

"But what?" He encouraged.

"Well at first it was little things like stuff in my office being moved around or misplaced. But this past week things have gotten…weirder." She said.

"How so?"

"I get pages to patient's room only to find out that no patient has been assigned to that room or requests for consults and when I call the doctor back I find out that the patient doesn't exist. At first I thought I was going crazy and was working too many hours. But now I'm starting to think that someone is intentionally messing with me. Especially after I found this on my desk this morning." She explained as she reached into her purse and pulled out a flower with the bud practically broken off. "I found it like this. There was another one on my doorstep the other night. Each one had this card attached to it." She handed the flower and the card over to Steve as he examined both. "I don't know what it's supposed to mean but I don't think I'm going to like the answer." She added grimly. He frowned.

"Have you noticed anyone acting odd or out of character lately at the hospital?"

"No. They only person acting odd is me. I don't want to seem paranoid but its starting to creep me out." She admitted.

'_Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you.' _Steve thought to himself.

"Dr. Emersen, I want to help you but I'm not sure what I can do." He stated reluctantly. Her face fell. "I can have an HPD officer monitor your home and the hospital but without some other kind of evidence there unfortunately isn't much that I can do." He told her with regret.

"Well its something I guess." She sighed, clearly disappointed.

"I'll have my team look into things but I can't promise we'll come up with anything." He informed. She just nodded.

"I understand. Thank you for at least believing me. The others think its all in my head." She stated as she stood and shook his hand again.

"I'll let you know if we find anything." Steve promised as he walked her to the door. She gave him a brief smile before leaving. Chin found him in his office again a few minutes later.

"What was that about?" He inquired. Steve frowned as he looked at the flower now lying on his desk.

"I'm not entirely sure yet."


	21. De Ja Vu All Over Again

**A/n: **So I'm not entirely thrilled with this chapter but it moves things along. I promise the next few chapters are better. Hang with me!

_I know that God will not give me anything that I cannot handle, I just wish He didn't trust me so much.—Mother Teresa_

Danny was feeling a sick sense of de ja vu. He was sitting in a New York hotel room that was slightly out of his price range in an attempt to impress Grace so that he could be her hero by giving her the things that her mother had promised her. It's how he had spent the first few years after the divorce—competing with Rachel in order to be the favorite parent in their daughter's eyes. Danny would have given Grace the world if he could have afford it, but instead he had to settle for shave ice and a few overpriced dolls that she would be too grown up for in a few years.

'_Well she could always pass them down to Makayla' _he thought to himself as he looked down at the screen saver on his phone. It was a picture of Steve and Grace making silly faces at each other while Makayla, who was probably around five months old at the time, rested in Steve's arms as she reached up to touch his lips. Danny couldn't help the little bit of sadness that washed over him when he looked at the picture. It had been taken before Makayla had gotten sick, before everything between him and Steve seemed to change.

Danny had gone through a million different scenarios in his head as to possible reasons why Steve had suddenly become so distant with him. At first he thought it was just his partner's natural reaction to pull away when something bad happened but eventually, Steve always found a way to turn to Danny after some time had passed. This time, the longer it went on the more distance that seemed to develop between them. In some of his crazier moments, Danny had briefly entertained the thought that Steve was having an affair but in his heart he knew it wasn't true. Steve wasn't that kind of person. His code of honor was too strong. Plus, Steve was the one who had wanted to be a family. It would take more than some whore to make him walk away when things were finally got a little rough. Maybe that's what scared Danny the most. Whatever it was that had gotten to Steve rattled had to be big and knowing his partner as well as he did, he was most likely in over his head.

Danny ran a hand through his hair and double checked the time difference in his head before hitting speed dial #1 on his phone. The slight reluctance to call his spouse was also an all too familiar feeling that he tried to ignore as he waited for Steve to pick up on the other line.

"McGarrett." Steve answered in his typically harsh tone.

"Hey, it's me." Danny replied softly.

"Danny, hey. How are you? How was yours and Grace's first day in New York?" Steve asked, his tone totally transforming as soon as he knew who it was. Danny gave a little smile. His partner was like Jekyll and Hyde. A total badass when it came to the job but a total softie when it came to his family.

"It was good. We crashed here at the hotel for a few hours to help get over the jet lag and then grabbed a quick lunch before heading out into the city." Danny relayed as he sat back on the bed, resting his back against the headboard.

"Let me guess? You guys went for pizza?" Steve guess and he could almost see the amused grin on the SEALs hardened face.

"What kind of father would I be to deny my daughter the opportunity to enjoy the food that she grew up eating?" Danny replied, pretending to be offended. Steve just laughed.

"Right, it was all Grace's idea. Did you guys check out the doll store yet?"

"Yes and I spent more money than could possibly be considered reasonable on something that it's even alive." Danny complained.

"Yeah but I'm sure the look on Grace's face made it all worth it." Steve commented.

"Yeah it did." Danny conceded. "How's my other baby girl?"

"Other than deciding she's not going to sleep she's fine." Steve informed. Danny couldn't help but smile a little.

"She doesn't go to sleep for you because you don't sing to her." He pointed out.

"I can't sing." Steve whined.

"Oh really? Because I distinctly remember hearing you singing the Rubber Ducky song during bath time." Danny reminded.

"That's different. I'm not good with the lullabies." Steve clarified.

"Who says it has to be lullabies? I sing all sorts of things to her. It's not the words that she cares about, she just likes the sound of your voice when you sing." Danny explained. This was the most normal conversation the couple had had in weeks. "Just try it tonight. It's not like she's going to laugh at your voice."

"No, she'll just start screaming to make me stop." Steve groaned. Danny just rolled his eyes. Silence passed between them for a minute and he could hear something in the background that made him frown.

"Steven?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you right now?" He asked, trying to remain calm. Steve paused for a second. "See the reason I ask is because if I figured the time difference correctly, it should be around 5:30pm back in Hawaii and I distinctly remember you telling me before I left that you were going to make sure that you left work on time-if not early."

"Who says I haven't left work already?" Steve retorted defensively.

"I say Steven! Because I can hear the main board running a computer search in the background instead of crashing waves. I know the difference between the background noise at home and the background noise at work because I live and work at those places too. So please, tell me why we are paying the nanny overtime when one of her fathers should be home with her?" Danny snapped.

"Something came up alright? Something that _I_ needed to take care of." Steve said defensively.

"Something more important than taking care of your child?" Danny inquired.

"You know what Danny? I'm not getting into this right now. I'm not going to argue with you on the phone while you're five thousand miles away. I have a few more things to take care of here and then I am going home. Goodnight." Steve declared before Danny heard the click on his line disconnecting. He stared at the cell in his hand for a moment, resisting the urge to throw it across the room.

"Daddy?" He turned around and saw Grace emerge from the bathroom where she had been getting ready for bed.

"Hey monkey, what's up?" He asked, his tone calm again.

"Are you and Steve going to get a divorce?" She asked innocently. Danny felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

"Why would you think that Grace?" He asked, knowing damn well what his daughter was going to say.

"Well, it just seem like lately you and Steve always talk to each other the way you and Mommy used to before you guys got divorced. Plus you seem sad lately like you were when you were right before we moved to Hawaii." She explained.

"Oh monkey, come here." He said, patting the side of the bed next to him. "I know it might be hard for you to understand consider the examples you've had set for you, but it is possible for people who are in love with each other to fight without it ending in divorce. Steve and I are having a disagreement right now and while we may get mad at each other and it might make us sad, we still love each other very much and we don't plan on leaving each other anytime soon." Danny explained as he wrapped an arm around his daughter.

"So you're not getting a divorce?" Grace asked, seeking some sort of confirmation.

"No Grace, Steve and I are not getting divorced." Danny stated.

"Good." She declared, giving him a hug before crawling over to her own bed.

Danny rubbed a hand roughly over his face, closing his eyes as he rested his head against the headboard. He just wanted to close his eyes, go to sleep and wake up from this nightmare that was becoming his life.


	22. A Good Love Falls to Pieces

**A/n: **I'm interested to see what the reaction to this chapter will be…

_She stayed up all night and cried into her pillow and fought off the urge to just break down and call. Last night to find the fault seemed so darn easy but now who's to blame don't matter much at all. She thinks if she calls him it just shows weakness, so the hurt goes on with every tear she cries. Ain't it sad to see a good love fall to pieces? Chalk another heartbreak up to foolish pride.—Travis Tritt, Foolish Pride_

There was something comforting about the familiarity of going 'home' again. Danny and Grace had rented a car and drove out from the city and into Jersey to visit with his parents for the day. They had been greeted at the door by his mother with a hug and the scent of something delicious in the air. Grace had been entertaining her grandmother with all of her stories about her school and friends while Danny just sat at the kitchen table listening but not really paying attention. It wasn't that he was disinterested or bored with his daughter's stories (even though he'd already heard them all three times) he just couldn't get his mind off of the last conversation he had with his partner and what the hell it all meant.

The behavior just seemed so unlike Steve. Yes he could be standoffish and yes he could be stubborn but never to the point of being unreasonable. He always eventually came to Danny and explained things to him. Danny could see it in his partner's deep blue eyes that whatever it was he was hiding was tearing him apart inside but he just couldn't understand why Steve wouldn't just confess it all to relieve himself of the torture of carrying it all inside. At this point Danny didn't even think he'd be mad about what Steve had to tell him just as long as he said _something, _gave him s_ome _kind of clue as to what was so damn important that he would risk ruining everything they had in order to keep it a secret.

"Daniel? Did you hear me?" His mother's voice broke through his haze as she stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry Ma, I spaced out for a second. Must be the jet lag catching up with me." He lied with a shrug. She frowned.

"Grace darling, why don't you go into the living room and tell Papa about all your Hawaiian adventures, I know he'd love to hear them." Maggie said, subtly ordering the girl away. Grace just nodded and ran off to the other room, allowing the older woman to take her spot at the table. She was out of hearing range before addressing her son again. "What's going on, dear?"

"It's Steve." Danny sighed as he scrubbed his hands over his face.

"What's wrong? Is he sick or something?"

"Huh, in the head maybe." He huffed. "He's keeping things from me, Ma. He's up to something and I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is."

"Have you tried asking him about?" She inquired.

"Yes! And every time I even try to bring it up he shuts down and refuses to talk to me about it." Danny said, getting irritated just thinking about the situation.

"Do you think he's having an affair?" Maggie asked.

"Steve's not that kind of person. He wouldn't cheat on me." He defended.

"Do you think that he's doing something that's putting you, the baby or himself in danger?"

"He would never do anything to put me or the girls in danger. Putting himself in danger is another story. He's always had a bit of a martyr complex that I haven't been able to break him of." He stated with a frown.

"Daniel, honey, I know it's within your nature to need to know everything that's going on and while that makes you a fabulous detective who's extremely good at your job, it doesn't always make you a very good spouse." Maggie pointed out. Danny just looked at her.

"What are you saying, Ma?"

"I'm saying that every couple has things that they keep from one another." She declared. "Even within the happiest of marriages there are things that spouses don't tell each other. It doesn't make them wrong or bad people, it just means that they realize there are certain things that the other person is better off not knowing about." She explained.

"So you're saying that you've kept secrets from Dad?" He said, disbelieving.

"Of course I have. You don't stay married for nearly forty years without a few secrets. I'm sure there's things your father hasn't told me either. As long as it's nothing big like an affair or something that's going to put you and the girls in danger then just let it go. The more you push him the worse you're going to make things." Maggie said.

"But Ma you don't understand, Steve isn't like most people, alright? Which means his secrets aren't like most people's secrets. His are the kind that can get people killed _and have_ in the past. My fear is that this time the person who's going to get hurt is him and I can't let that happen. I can't lose him." Danny declared, trying not to tear up at the thought. Maggie reached across the table with a serious expression and laid a hand on his arm.

"I understand, but Daniel if you keep pushing him, you're likely to lose him anyways."

* * *

><p>"<em>The Beautiful and the Damned <em>by F. Scott Fitzgerald—wow, that's some pretty hard core reading material." Casey peaked over the top of her book and saw a familiar face standing in front of her table at the coffee shop. "Is this a kind of assigned reading or is this a voluntary choice of yours?"

"It's a voluntary choice, if you must know. F. Scott Fitzgerald is my favorite author. My senior thesis in college was on the effect his novels had on the concept of romance in the early twentieth century." She smirked as she set the book down in front of her.

"That's impressive. Me personally, I always had a hard time with books that didn't have pictures in them."Her guest joked. She just rolled her eyes.

"I have to say, Kris, I'm not sure whether to be flattered or creeped out that you're following me around." Casey commented as she gestured for him to have a seat at the table with her.

"I promise this is purely coincidental." He said, holding up a hand as a sign of non hostility. "This happens to be the closest coffee shop to my work."

"Mmhmm, and the fact that you've been at the bar almost every Friday night for the past six weeks?" She wondered aloud as she sipped her tea.

"Okay I have to admit I'm guilty as charged on that one. I've been trying to work up my courage." He confessed.

"To do what?" She asked.

"To ask you out." He said simply.

"Really? You don't seem like the type that needs to find the courage to as a woman out." Casey stated.

"Normally I don't. But I get the impression that you're not like most women. My usual game won't work with you." He explained.

"Well you're right about that. I'm not into guys who play games." _At least not anymore_. She added in her head.

"So, what do you think? Would you be willing to give me a chance to show you that I'm really a pretty good guy under all this ego and bravado?" He asked.

"I don't know, Kris. The last relationship that I was in did not end well for me at all and I'm just not sure if I'm ready to put myself out there again." She admitted.

"I'm not asking you to marry me. I just want the chance to take you out and show you a good time in an attempt to get a genuine smile out of you. Please, give me one night and if I can't win you over after that then I promise to leave you alone." He said, practically begging.

Casey bit her lip as she thought about it. Her relationship with Micah had left her with numerous scars both physically and emotionally and there was a part of her that just wasn't ready or willing to put herself out there again and risk that kind of pain all over again. Kris seemed like a truly nice guy who had good intentions but she had fallen for a snake charmer once before and she wasn't sure if she could survive if she did it again. But she also knew that if she was ever going to move on with her life and be the kind of person she wanted to be, she had to open up to other people and let them into her life if for no other reason than to prove that she could have a normal functioning relationship with another person. She took a deep breath before answering him.

"Alright, I'll give you one night—but remember, I'm not like other girls—dinner and a movie isn't going to cut it." She pointed out. He sat back in his chair with a self satisfying smirk.

"Oh don't worry, I've got the perfect place in mind."


	23. Unintended Consequences

**A/n: **Again, i'm not entirely thrilled with it but I think it helps move things along nicely so just hang with me a little longer. I promise things are about to get really good.

_While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions—Stephan R. Covery_

Steve was about to hit the wall._ Literally_.

The past 48 hours had been nothing but a total frustration. It had all started with Dr. Emersen's potential stalker and had only gotten worse after his latest fight with Danny on the phone later that night. Now his irritation was beginning to reach the point where he was going to need to find some kind of physical outlet to release it all (preferably punching something extremely hard). But right now he had to try to at least keep things somewhat in check.

Steve had tried multiple times during the day to try to call his partner and to try to apologize for snapping at him but every time he picked up the phone, he stopped himself. What could he possibly tell Danny? He couldn't tell him that he was working late on Dr. Emersen's case because that would involve a lot more explaining than he was ready to do right now. He could have just said that he got caught up on a case that really needed his attention but it still would have resulted in an irritated Danny so he figured it was just best to let it go and hope his partner would eventually let it go.

He had been working most of the day on trying to decrypt the symbols that were written on the card that was attached to the flowers that Dr. Emersen had received and so far he had a bunch of possibilities but nothing definitive that would give him something to go on.

"Hey boss?" Kono said, catching his attention as she poked her head into his office.

"What's up?" Steve asked, waving her in.

"I have something I think you need to see." She declared as she came to stand before his desk.

He had enlisted Chin and Kono's help in trying to figure out who might be messing with the doctor, thought Chin knew more about the situation than his cousin and Steve preferred to keep it that way. He loved Kono like another little sister but he also knew that she loved Danny like a big brother and if she found out what Steve was keeping from his partner, she wouldn't hesitate to fill Danny in on the situation regardless of the consequences it would have on her boss.

"So I know you and Chin have been trying to determine the symbolism behind the card and the broken flower that Dr. Emersen received but I got to thinking the other day about what she had said about being called to see patients that don't actually exist and I was wondering if maybe there was some sort of symbolism in that as well. Everything that this person is doing is for a reason so I thought I might be able to get somewhere with the fake patients." She explained.

"That's good thinking." Steve praised.

"Yeah, especially because I think I got something." She added, handing over the file she had been holding. "I called Dr. Emersen the other day and I asked her if she could send me over a list of the faux patients. I was going over them today and somebody is definitely trying to send a message."

Steve opened the file and began to scan the short list of names on the page. It became clear very quickly that this was another attempt to get at him. He rubbed a hand roughly over his mouth and swallowed thickly as he digested the information. The list contained four names with two females and two males on it.

"You recognize the names don't you? I think I know who two of them are but the other's I'm not sure." Kono questioned. Steve just nodded his head. "Casey Lynn is Danny's sister and John Charles—"

"—Was my father." He finished with a sigh.

"The other two names?"

"Melinda Ann Harris was my mother. Harris was her maiden name. The other guy on the list, Micah Finley is Makayla's biological father."Steve informed. A bad feeling was beginning to develop in his stomach.

"So this really isn't about Dr. Emersen….it's about you." Kono stated. He could see the question in her eyes and he silently begged her not to ask it because he couldn't explain it all to her right now. "Is everything alright boss? Because I get the feeling that there's more to all of this than what I've been told." She inquired.

"I'm not entirely sure what's going on right now." Steve replied, not entirely lying. He didn't really know what was going on but he had a pretty damn good idea. He set the file down and reached for the phone.

"What are you going to do?" Kono wondered.

"I need to talk to Dr. Emersen and get some more information from her." He answered as he dialed and waited for her to answer. Her cell phone went to voice mail so Steve decided to try her at the hospital.

"Queens Medical Center, Infectious Disease department, how can I help you?" The receptionist answered, her tone entirely professional if not a bit clipped.

"Yes, this is Commander Steve McGarrett with 5-0, I'm looking for Dr. Cassandra Emersen." He said.

"You and everyone else Commander." The woman huffed on the other end of the line. "Dr. Emersen didn't show up for her shift today and the entire department is in chaos because of it. I can leave a message for her if she does show up later?" She offered.

"No, that's alright. I just try again later. Thank you." Steve said as he hung up.

"What's up boss?" Kono asked as she noticed the worried look on his face.

"Dr. Emersen didn't show up for her shift at the hospital today and she didn't answer her cell when I called before." He stated. Kono frowned.

"You think something happened to her?" Steve didn't say anything but instead just gave her a look. "I'll get Chin to trace her cell and see where she is." She said as she left his office. Steve sat back in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face as he let out a sigh, hoping that the doctor wasn't another innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of his war with Wo Fat.

* * *

><p>"Steve, this isn't your fault." Chin declared as he tried to draw his boss's attention away from the large pool of blood that was congealing on the floor.<p>

"That is what everybody says when they know it really is your fault but they just don't want to say it to your face." Steve replied, not looking over at his friend.

They had traced Dr. Emersen's phone back to her condo just outside of Waikiki where they found the doctor lying face down in her kitchen in a pool of her own blood that seemed to have come from a massive head wound that she had suffered. She still had a weak pulse when they found her and she had been taken to Queens but her prognosis was unclear at the moment. Steve felt sick. It was one more person who had to suffer because of him. He was determined to make sure she was last.

"You didn't do this to her. Someone targeted her." Chin said forcefully.

"Yeah, they targeted her because she had the misfortune of being associated with me. It's just like with Makayla. Wo Fat is doing all of this and hurting them to get to me. Which is why I can't still around and wait to see who he goes after next. Once I find him, I'm going after him and I'm not stopping until he's dead." Steve stated firmly.

"Or you are." Chin added. "Look, I understand your need to do something to stop all of this but think of the consequences-"

"Consequences! There've already been consequences! And it's not just me who's suffering them." Steve exclaimed.

"I know but Steve, don't you see that he's doing all of this to goad you into a fight?" Chin questioned.

"Yeah, he wants a fight and now he's got one. I'm not scared of this bastard, Chin. And I'm damn sure not going to let him win." Steve growled.

"And what if it's a trap? What if he is doing all of this to set you up into coming after him and you end up walking right into a trap?" Chin asked.

"Then I go in prepared for the worst." Steve stated with a sense of finality.

Chin just shook his head,knowing he was fighting a losing battle. Steve had made his mind up about this a long time ago and recent events only served to escalate his need for vengeance. Chin wasn't even sure that Danny-who could talk his partner out of almost anything- could talk his partner out of this if he knew about it.


	24. The Art of Timing

**A/n: **Many of you may recognize our friend Mason from , _It's Been A Long Day. _I decided to steal him and bring him over to this story where I've expanded upon his character some more (I also changed him a little bit too). Mason's going to be a key character coming up so stay tuned.

"_Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over." -Gloria Naylor_

"Makayla Rose what are you doing?" Steve called out as he looked at the baby in front of him. She looked back up at her father with an innocent expression when she heard her name and babbled back an incoherent response. Steve just shook his head as he stared to pick up the mess around her.

He was starting to gain a greater appreciation for what his partner had gone through as a single parent. It was Friday evening and Steve was trying to get a few things done after work. But he was moving at a glacial pace because he constantly had to stop to make sure his daughter was staying out of trouble. He thought he'd be able to just set her in her playpen while he worked but Makayla had lasted only a few minutes before she began to scream. So he decided to take her out and let her crawl around since the first floor had been baby proofed. But now that she was eight months old, Makayla was starting to cruise and figure out she could pull herself up on the furniture. Which is how Steve found her, standing next to the coffee table, throwing everything she could reach off of it.

"You make a bigger mess than Danno." He complained as he started to pick up the discarded magazines. Makayla hummed at him as if to disagree.

Steve had just tossed the last magazine back onto the table when he heard a car pull into the driveway. He scooped up Makayla and headed over to the door to see who had just pulled in.

"Who's here Mak?" He asked, smiling as he opened the door and saw who sat behind the wheel of the bright yellow Corvette parked in the driveway. "Nice car." Steve commented as he watched the taller man struggle to get out of the low riding car.

"Shut it McGarrett. It was all the rental car company had." The other man retorted as he made his way up to the house.

"Aw come on Mason. It's my duty as your commanding officer to give you a hard time." Steve said with a smile as he let his friend in the door.

"Well that'd be fine and dandy if you were still my commanding officer." Mason retorted.

"What are you talking about May Day?" Steve asked, confused.

"That's Captain May Day to you, Commander." Mason responded smugly.

"How the hell did you make Captain?" Steve exclaimed.

"I'm afraid that information is classified." The other man joked. Steve rolled his eyes. "Hell, you could have been an Admiral by now if you hadn't given it all up for the glorious civilian life."

"Hey, civilian life isn't so bad." He pointed out, pretending to be slightly insulted.

"I didn't say anything was wrong with it. I just never thought I'd see Steve McGarrett give up the Navy for domesticity." Mason stated.

"Things change buddy." Steve said, looking at his daughter with a little smile.

"Don't I know it?" Mason huffed in agreement.

"Hey, you want a beer?" Steve offered.

"Sure." Mason nodded as he followed his friend deeper into the house. Steve grabbed a few beers from the fridge and headed out the door to the lanai. He set the bottles down on the table and settled into one of the chairs with Makayla while Mason settled in the one of the others.

Cayleb Mason was the closest thing Steve had to a best friend before he met Danny. They had gone through basic training together at Great Lakes and Steve had instantly liked the other man. Mason was an easy going good ol' boy from North Carolina with a heavy southern drawl and an even heavier right hook. He was taller than Steve by a few inches but with a much slimmer frame making him the physical opposite of Danny but both men had been blessed with the gift of gab. Mason wasn't a physically overpowering guy so his greatest assets were his mind and mouth. He couldn't always overpower someone with his strength but he could lay on his southern charm and talk himself out of trouble with his mind tricks. Anyone who made the mistake of equating his accent with stupidity usually found themselves on the wrong end of a rifle scope. He and Steve had served together on a SEAL team for year and 'May Day' got a reputation of being the guy that got called in when everything had gone.

But Mason also had a kind of easy going, almost gentle temperament and after awhile he burned out from the SEAL lifestyle. The Navy, not wanting to lose a guy with his skill set, repurposed him into an instructor at Coronado where he could teach future generations of SEALs naval intelligence and interrogation techniques. Steve had called his friend after receiving the reports from Dr. Emersen because of the connections Mason had as well as the fact that he was one of the few people from Steve's past that he felt comfortable talking to about his relationship with another man—because Mason was in one too.

Steve had known that Mason was gay going all the way back to basic training but because of Don't Ask Don't Tell, he had to live his private life carefully. It was also part of the reason for his burn out from the SEALs. It was a hard enough lifestyle to begin with but to have to hide a huge part of himself as well took its toll on Mason. Steve had gone through it during his last deployment and it was a huge reason why he moved to the reserves. He wanted to be able to live openly with Danny without fear of professional repercussions. After his transfer to Coronado, Mason met his partner, Andrew, and had been boldly living openly as gay since the repeal of DADT. Andrew was a bioterrorism expert with the Department of Homeland Security and so Steve had asked if he could give the CDC reports to Andrew to look over and see if he could give any insight on the matter. Mason had promised he would and Steve assumed that if Mason was here it was for more than just a social visit.

"So where is this partner of yours? I want to meet the man that who manages to put up with your miserable self every day." Mason asked, looking around as if his partner would just magically appear.

"Danny's in New York with our oldest, Grace, for her birthday. They won't be back for a few days." Steve informed.

"Shame." Mason said, clicking his tongue. He then looked at the baby in his friend's arms. "Now this little one here, she can't possibly be yours. She's far too cute."

"This is my baby girl, Makayla Rose." Steve said with pride as he shifted the baby higher in his arms.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Makayla Rose." Mason greeted as he stroked the side of her face with a long finger. Makayla looked at him for a minute before holding her arms out and leaning towards him. He cautiously took her and held her close. She settled her head on his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck.

"I think she likes me." Mason smirked.

"You always did have a way with woman." Steve replied. Mason flipped him off with his free hand and Steve laughed. "How is Andrew anyways?"

"Pissed at me for not bringing him with me. He thought I was full of shit when I told him it was a business trip." Mason said.

"Well you usually are full of shit." Steve retorted as he sipped his beer.

"Keep it up McGarrett. I can still take you down." Mason threatened.

"In your dreams maybe." Steve muttered under his breath.

"Don't even go there." Mason warned. "Besides, you haven't been in my dreams for years, _thank god_." He added. Steve just looked at him.

"Are you still over at Coronado?" He inquired.

"Yeah," Mason sighed. "I tell you, they don't make 'em like they used to. Men like us are a dying breed. All these new recruits think they are the greatest thing God ever put on this earth and that they're a bunch of bad asses because they killed people in a video game." He explained.

"Isn't that what you're there for? To whip them into shape?"

"Oh I whip 'em alright." Mason replied.

"Is Joe still there?" Steve asked.

"Commander White? Yeah that prickly SOB is still there and mean as ever. I think he gets a kick out of seeing how many in each class he can make cry." Mason stated.

"Good to know there are some things that _don't _change." Steve chuckled as the other man just nodded. A comfortable silence fell over them for a few minutes before Mason spoke again.

"Are you happy, Steve?" He asked bluntly as he took a swig of his beer.

"I was. Then all this shit happened and now I'm just trying not to lose my marriage and my kids." Steve answered honestly as he leaned his elbows forward onto his knees while he looked out over the ocean.

"You think Danny would leave over all this?" Mason questioned.

"I don't know. I'd like to think he wouldn't but I also think he's strong enough to walk away from me if I push him too far." Steve admitted.

"So quit pushing." Mason said simply.

"That easy huh?" Steve said, looking over at the other man.

"It can be. But if Danny loves you the way I know you love him, he won't leave. He'll be pissed and you'll be in the doghouse for awhile but you'll get through this together." Mason declared.

"Thanks Dr. Phil." Steve smirked.

"Oh kiss off McGarrett. I'm trying to help your sorry butt." Mason replied, pretending to be irritated.

"How about helping me by getting me the information asked you for?" Steve asked, finally getting down to business.

"Fine. You killed the moment anyways." Mason huffed. He handed Makayla back over to her father and then reached for the file he had brought with him. "I looked over everything your girl Jenna gave you and I agree with her assessment that this rogue Mossad agent is your girl."

"Yeah?" Steve said as he settled his daughter back on his lap.

"Yeah_. _Andrew looked over the CDC reports that you sent me and it's some serious shit. He said it's a hybrid of some of the most potent bacteria that can cause illnesses like meningitis. It's a down and dirty germ meant to do some serious damage except that it's been genetically altered with a suicide chain." Mason explained.

"Which means what exactly?"

"It means that this bug was designed to get your girl to the brink of death and then pull her back. The suicide chain is created to allow the bacteria to replicate for a certain amount of time and then stop which allows the illness to then be treated with targeted antibiotics and other drugs until it's gone. Wo Fat never meant to kill your daughter. He just wanted to piss you off, and he succeeded gloriously." Mason said as he watched Steve's jaw tense.

"So why does this make you think Layla David is his accomplice?" Steve asked, his voice rough.

"Well to create this kind of bug you need some serious bioengineering skills and from what you've told me, Wo Fat doesn't have those skills. Layla David does." Mason pointed out.

"Have you confirmed her identity yet?" Steve asked, rubbing a hand across Makayla's back, more to sooth himself than the baby.

"Yup. Layla David was a Mossad Agent, or double agent I should say."

"Jenna suspected she was." He added.

"The kicker is that she got her bioengineering training from us." Mason snorted as he killed his drink.

"And now she's using our knowledge against us." Steve growled. Mason opened the file and handed his friend a photo.

"You recognize this woman?"

Steve stared at the picture for a minute, his eyes going wide. The hair was a little lighter and the build a little thinner but he knew without a doubt who that woman was.

"Oh god." He groaned, swallowing the bile that had risen in his throat.

"You know her?" Mason asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I know her." Steve choked out...


	25. Nothing's Ever Built To Last

**A/n: **I'M SORRY! I had to do it. I originally wasn't going to leave it as a cliff hanger and then the evil side of me took over and I couldn't resist the opportunity that was given to me I have to give a shout out to all of you who reviewed and especially to those who broke their vows of silence to chime in on my cruelty. And I know we haven't seen a lot of Danny recently but he'll back soon, I promise. I'm also going to bump the rating up a little bit for these next few chapters mostly because of language.

_When you're at the end of the road and you've lost all sense of control and your thoughts have taken their toll. When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul. Your faith walks on broken glass and the hangover doesn't pass, nothing's every built to last. You're in ruins.—Green Day, 21 Guns_

Mason took a moment to quietly observe the scene in front of him as he stepped back out onto the lanai from the house. Steve was sitting in his chair, leaning back with his chin resting in his hand as he looked out towards the water. Makayla was asleep in the swing beside of him, gently rocking back and forth as she slept with her pacifier hanging precariously out of her mouth. It looked like a serene moment between father and daughter but Mason knew the war that was raging inside of his friend. He had seen the emotions that had flicked through Steve's eyes at lightning speed as he stared at that photograph. Surprise, anger, confusion, betrayal and guilt had made an appearance and Mason was pretty sure that for the moment Steve had settled on being angry—extremely angry.

"Are you okay?" He asked cautiously. They had both sent the better part of an hour making phone calls and Mason was wondering if Steve was able to process any of this or if the shock hadn't totally worn off yet.

"No, but that's not really important right now." Steve replied with his own shrug. "I just can't comprehend it Mase, I let that woman into my house. I gave her complete unsupervised access to my daughter and I never thought twice about it. Hell, I'm the one who insisted that we hire her!" He exclaimed, shaking his head in defeat.

Steve felt like he had been sucker punched in the gut when he saw the picture that Mason had given him. The hair was a little bit lighter and the build was a little bit slimmer but there was no mistaking the fact that the woman in the picture was Vivian Walkum aka Layla David. His stomach had sunk and he couldn't help the overwhelming feeling that he had somehow failed as a father by letting this woman into their lives.

"Look, Steve, you made the decision to hire her as a nanny as a father, not as a Navy SEAL. Yes you might have gotten played but that is what people like her do. You weren't suspicious of her because you had no reason to be. You had every reason to believe that 'Vivian' was who she said she was. Now you can sit there and feel guilty and go over the 'woulda coulda shouldas' but you can't change what has happened. The only thing you can deal with is what happens from this point on." Mason stated, trying his best to get through to his friend. He knew that Steve would think that this was just one more thing that was his fault but he also knew that wasn't a productive use of time at the moment. It was time for Steve to start thinking like a SEAL again so that he could get the justice he was seeking. "So what are you doing to do?"

"Nothing." Steve stated simply. Mason whipped his head around to look at his friend.

"I'm sorry, what? You just found out that your nanny is really a rogue Mossad double agent working for your arch nemesis and you're going to do…nothing?" Mason asked incredulously, not believing what he was hearing out of his friend's mouth. He would have been less shocked if Steve had told him he wanted to kill her.

"There's nothing _to do, _Mason. I just talked the HPD officers I had sent over to her apartment to bring her in for questioning. They found her in her bed, two bullet holes in the back of the head, execution style. Wo Fat got to her and took her out because he didn't need her anymore. He knows I've figured it out." Steve explained in a rough voice.

"Oh." Mason said, deflated. "Well, I guess my question is now, what are you going to do about Wo Fat?"

"I'm going to do what I set out from the beginning to do: I'm going to find the son of a bitch and I'm going to kill him. I'm going to make him suffer the way he made Makayla and Dr. Emersen and my parents suffer. I'm going to teach that bastard that _nobody_ messes with me or my family and gets away with it." Steve said darkly and Mason couldn't help the chill that spread down at his back. He knew the things Steve was capable of doing and if he even did half of them to his enemy, it was bound to be brutal and bloody.

"How do you plan to find him?" Mason asked.

"I called Jenna. She thinks has a location where I can find him in North Korea. I'm just waiting for her to confirm it." Steve informed. Mason nodded his head.

"You'll need back up." He replied. Steve just looked over at him.

"I don't—"

"It's not a question, McGarrett. It's fact." Mason demanded. "There is no way that you can go into a country like North Korea and pull something like this off all by yourself. It's a certain death. Hell, even with a team it's suicidal at best." He insisted.

"How am I going to get a team together? I can't ask Chin or Kono to come with me because- number one they don't have the experience or skills necessary to pull this off and secondly I can't ask them to take that kind of a risk for something that's my problem. And the Navy is never going to sanction this. I _have_ to do it on my own." Steve exclaimed.

"There is so much wrong with what you just said it isn't funny." Mason retorted. "I _do_ think your team would go with you if you asked them to but I guess I can understand not wanting to put them at risk. But as far as the Navy goes, just because SecNav wouldn't approve the mission doesn't mean you can't use Naval personnel. Let me make some phone calls and I can pull us together a team." He explained.

"Us?" Steve said, frowning at his friend.

"Yes _us_ you dumbass. I'm going with you. I already called Andrew and told him that something came up and I might not be home for awhile." Mason said.

"What about the Navy? You want to face a court martial?"

"Since when are you worried about me getting court martialed? Don't worry about me, I got it covered. Now are you going to let me make a few phone calls?" Mason asked.

"I'm going regardless." Steve stated as he looked at his friend.

"I'm not asking you not to go, I'm asking you to wait for fucking back up." Mason replied, sounding irritated.

"You sound like my partner." Steve said, unable to hide the smirk that came across his face.

"Yeah well you should listen to your partner." Mason muttered. "Speaking of, what did Danny have to say about all this when you told him?" Steve didn't say anything and Mason narrowed his eyes. "You did tell him about all of this, didn't you?"

"I needed to keep him out of all of this so that if things went bad the girls still had at least one parent." Steve said, trying to defend himself. Mason just rolled his eyes.

"You're dumber than I remembered. No wonder you're worried about your marriage falling apart! I would leave your ass too if you kept something like this from me." He exclaimed. "So how are you going to explain going to North Korea to him if he doesn't have a clue what's going on?"

"I haven't figured that out yet." Steve admitted sheepishly.

"I think there's a lot you haven't figured out yet." Mason added, shaking his head. "Let me make a few phone calls so this thing doesn't become totally FUBAR."

"Thanks Mason." Steve said sincerely, referring to everything his friend had done for him so far.

"Don't thank me yet McGarrett." Mason said seriously as he pressed the phone to his ear. "We're just getting started."


	26. Find Out Who Your Friends Are

**A/n: **Okay, honestly, how many of you saw that one coming? That was for all of you that doubted her from the very beginning and thought she was too good to be true. Anyways, we have a couple more familiar faces arriving in this chapter. Enjoy!

_You find out who your friends are, somebody who's gonna drop everything, run out and crank up their car, hit the gas get there fast and never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'. They just show on up with their big ol' hearts and you find out who your friends are.—Tracy Lawrence, Find Out Who Your Friends Are_

Steve and Mason spent the rest of Friday night and most of the day Saturday planning out their next moves. They were still waiting for confirmation on a location from Jenna and for the "back-up" that Mason had called in but they were still able to put together a basic plan of attack that could be tweaked once they had more details. With a little help from Andrew, they had figured out a way to get off the island and into South Korea discreetly. Steve knew of a few places where they could set up a base before they crossed the border into North Korea where Wo Fat was suspected to be. Once they had an exact location, Steve and Mason would cross the border and take the offensive attacks while the others would hang back in case things went bad.

The only thing Steve had yet to figure out was how to explain all of this to Danny. The whole situation had gotten so convoluted and complicated that Steve wasn't even sure he knew where to start explaining it all. He knew his partner's first reaction would be to get angry and yell at Steve for keeping of this magnitude from him and the SEAL knew he had every right to be. He would have been beyond pissed too if the roles had been reversed. But what worried Steve was what was going to happen after the dust settled.

Would Danny understand why he did what he did? Would he understand that Steve was only trying to protect their family so that the girls never had to grow up the way he did? Would he realize that Steve wasn't trying to hurt him in any way by keeping secrets but that he just didn't know what else to do? The answers to these questions were going to make or break their relationship which was why Steve spent the better part of Sunday morning try to put into words the mess that he had created.

He had woken up early that morning, unable to sleep with all of the thoughts that were swirling around in his head, and decided to go for a long swim. Makayla was still fast asleep in her crib and Steve knew that if she were to wake up while he was gone, her new best friend would attend to her properly. Makayla had taken to Mason immediately which was surprising considering she rarely took to anyone right away. Mason seemed just as smitten with her. He thought nothing of picking her up and holding her while they were working so he knew that if she cried, his friend would take care of her.

Steve needed the time to himself. He was still having a hard time processing everything that he had learned over the past few days. He hadn't been prepared when Mason handed him that file with Vivan's picture inside. It stirred up something deep inside him that he hadn't felt since the day that his father had died. He wanted blood—wanted someone to feel as bad as he had felt all these years without his parents in his life. Mason seemed to understand that in a way that Steve wasn't sure Danny would. The other SEAL knew to a much greater degree what Steve was truly capable and those were the things that he tried to keep from Danny. Another attempt to try to shield and protect the man he loved.

By the time Steve had returned to the house he was physically and mentally exhausted. As he was toweling off on the lanai, he could hear noises coming from the kitchen and so he quietly stepped inside to find Mason standing by his stove (his back turned to Steve) singing while Makayla sat in her high chair happily babbling along as she clapped her hands. When she spotted her father, she reached out her arms and called to him.

"Mmmmmmm." She hummed as he came closer to her.

"Good morning, Mak. Are you having fun here with Uncle Mason?" Steve smiled as he lifted his daughter into his arms. Mason stopped his singing and turned around.

"Hey, there's Aqua Man." Mason said with a smirk. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to try to swim to Korea all by yourself." He commented as he turned back to the stove.

"Not today but maybe I'll try again tomorrow." Steve quipped as he kissed the top of Makayla's head. "What are you doing over there?"

"I, am making pancakes." Mason announced with a big smile. Steve just rolled his eyes.

"Danny only makes me a big breakfast when he's trying to butter me up for something he knows I'm not going to like." He said.

"Yeah? Well you're going to need to make him a seven course dinner before you tell him all the shit you hid from him." Mason muttered as he continued to cook. "When's Danny supposed to be home anyways?"

"He and Grace fly home tomorrow." Steve stated absently.

"Have you figured out how to tell him yet?" Mason asked as he started stacking pancakes on a platter.

"I don't know. No matter what I say I'm screwed. I dug a hole and just kept digging without thinking about how I was going to get out of it. I just have to tell him the truth and go from there." Steve shrugged. Mason just nodded and continued to stack pancakes. Steve placed Makayla back in her high chair and headed over to the cabinets to get out a couple plates and utensils for them to use. As he placed them on the counter he looked over at the stack that Mason had going on the platter. "Uh Mase, how much food are you planning on making? I mean I know you and I used to be able to really pack it in but you're cooking like we're preparing for Hell Week." He commented.

"First of all, when you really think about it, we kind of are preparing for Hell Week." Mason stated, pointing the spatula in his friend's face. "And secondly, we're having guests." He added.

"Guests?" Steve asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes. Our back up should be here shortly." Mason declared as he started in on the last batch of pancakes. "Now, why don't you go up and get changed so you look presentable for our company while the little lady and I finish up breakfast." He said as he made a shooing motion towards the other man. Steve just rolled his eyes.

"You and Danny are going to get along just fine, I can already tell." He said as he walked out of the room.

Steve took a quick shower to wash off the salty residue of the sea water and as he was changing into his cargos and a tee shirt he heard the doorbell go off.

"I got it!" Mason called up the stairs. Steve quickly tossed on his shirt and hurried down the stairs just as his friend was closing the front door. "Meet our back up." Mason said as he gestured to the two men standing in the front entry with him. "Commander McGarrett, I believe you already know Lt Commander Beck." Steve smiled as he saw his old friend and fellow SEAL team member.

"It's good to see you again, sir." Beck greeted with his own smile.

"Beck, what are you doing here?" Steve asked, still stunned by the sight of the other man in his house.

"Well Captain Mason called me up and told that you needed a favor. And I figure I owe you one since you kind of saved my life on our last tour. So here I am." He explained nonchalantly. "The Navy may have medically discharged me but I'm still a SEAL and I've still got your back." He added. Steve held out his hand and the two embraced in a 'man hug'.

"And who's this?" Steve asked Mason as he looked at the other guy standing with them. He was about the same size as the rest of them but it was clear to see his was younger than them by a few years.

"This is Major Jack Matthews. He's a buddy of mine from San Diego." Mason introduced.

"You called in the Marines?" Steve asked incredulously.

"Well now I know he doesn't wear the trident and anchor like us but if ever there was a time to bring in the Marines this was it. Besides he's good, real good. And he wants to help." Mason explained patiently. Steve looked over at the younger man in slight disbelief.

"You suicidal or something?"

"I have my moments sir." Jack replied, trying to bite back a smirk.

"What's your weapon's qualification?" Steve asked, trying to size the Marine up.

"Every Marine is first and foremost a riflemen." Jack stated proudly. "But I'm qualified as a sniper." Steve looked over at Mason who gave him a look in return as if to say 'I told you so'.

"You serve in combat?" Steve continued on, not quite convinced.

"Two tours in Afghanistan enough for you?" Jack retorted. "Look, Commander McGarrett, I understand the magnitude of what we're about to do and what it means to you personally. But you also need to understand that I am here to help. I may not know you as a friend like the others but you and I both served our country as members of the same branch of the military and so to me that makes you my brother." He declared. Steve looked at him for another moment before holding a hand for him to shake.

"Welcome aboard, Major."

"Thank you sir." Jack said with a smile. Steve just nodded.

"Well now that we're all friends, can we move this party into the kitchen? Breakfast is getting cold and nobody wants cold pancakes." Mason declared as he led the way. Steve just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"And you call me domesticated?"


	27. I Fear You'll Ne'er Return Again

**A/n: **The song that Steve is singing is My Jolly Sailor Bold. I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and this song was in it and it got stuck in my head. It seems like something he would know and sing to his child. And if you don't already hate him, you're going to hate him more.

"_Upon one summer's morning, I carelessly did stray, down by the Walls of Wapping where I met a sailor gay, conserving with a young lass who seemed to be in pain, saying William when you go, I fear you ne'er return again_…" Steve sang, his voice low as he slowly rocked Makayla as she lay across his chest. Her blue eyes blinked heavy as she fought against the sleep that was threatening to take over her.

Steve had decided to take his partner's advice to sing to her to try to get the baby to settle down. He vaguely remembered some of the songs that his mother had sang to him when he was younger. They weren't the traditional lullabies but as Danny had pointed out, Makayla didn't seem to care much. She just snuggled against his chest as she sucked lazily on her pacifier and quietly listened to her father's voice. Steve wanted to savor the moment that was probably going to be his last with his daughter for awhile.

The boys were downstairs getting the supplies together for their mission. In the morning, they would drive up to Marine Corp base at Kaneohe Bay where there would be a transport waiting to take them to Korea. Steve didn't know how Mason had managed to arrange it but the detail really didn't matter much to him. All that mattered was finding Wo Fat.

"Are you signing sea shanties to her?" Mason asked as he appeared in the doorway to the nursery.

"Danny told me to sign to her to try to get her to settle down, so it's either sea shanties or bad 70s rock." Steve replied softly. "She seems to prefer the shanties."

Mason just smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest. He waited and watched as Steve carefully stood up from the rocking chair and carried his sleeping child over to the crib. He remained standing there as he watched the baby sleep.

"Steve are you sure you want to do this? We can still abort-"

"No." Steve stated firmly. "We're going.

"Well do you at least want to push our departure time so that you can see Danny and Grace before we leave?" Mason inquired. Steve just shook his head.

"It's better this way." He sighed.

"Better for who?" Mason said pointedly. "You owe it to him to explain all of this face to face, not in some deathbed confessional type letter." He insisted. He had seen Steve in the office clearly struggling as he tried to find a way to explain to his partner why he wasn't going to be there when Danny returned to the island.

"I'll explain it all to him when it's over." Steve said, leveling his friend with a glare. Mason just stared back.

"How'd your team take it when you filled them in?"

"About as badly as I expected them to." Steve huffed. "Kono thinks I'm an ass and Chin wonders if I'm really doing the right thing."

"You think they'll try to stop you?" Mason asked.

"They can't. I didn't tell them any of the details." Steve replied. He hated the fact that he had purposely deceived his friends but he knew if he had told them the plans, they would either try to stop him or try to go with him and he couldn't let either of those happen…

_After breakfast, Steve left Mason and the guys at the house to go over the plans while he took Makayla with him to go meet up with Chin and Kono. He needed to touch base with the cousins to go over everything that had transpired over the last few days and see if they had any new information for him. They had agreed to meet at Kamekona's shrimp truck and the other half of 5-0 was understandably shocked by what their leader had to tell them. _

"_So let me get this straight," Kono started as she adjusted Makayla on her lap. "Your nanny wasn't really a nanny but rather a Mossad double agent who was working for Wo Fat?"_

"_Yes." Steve confirmed._

"_And you think Wo Fat had her killed because he didn't need her anymore?" She added. He nodded. "This all just seems like something straight out of one of those crazy action movies where you're left at the end wondering what the hell just happened." Kono said as she shook her head. Steve just snorted. If only this were just some action movie, then he wouldn't have to worry-the hero never dies in those._

"_Did HPD get anything from her place?" Chin asked._

"_No, it was professional hit. No prints, no DNA and the bullets were untraceable. But they did find this on her computer." Steve said as he tossed a folder down on the table. Chin took it and briefly glanced over the contents before looking back at his boss._

"_Is this what I think it is?" He inquired._

"_They're dossiers." Steve stated. "She had complete backgrounds on me, Danny, Dr. Emersen and everyone around us-including you guys." _

"_You think she was the one behind the attack on Dr. Emersen?" Kono asked._

"_I'm sure of it. Dr. Emersen was the one who figured out that Makayla's illness was intentional. She was the one who puts us on the hunt for Wo Fat and inadvertently Layla. She wanted to take her out to try to tie up her own loose ends. It explains the fake patients' name. Layla got them from the dossiers that she had. " Steve explained._

"_But why would she do that if she knew that Wo Fat would eventually be coming after her?" Kono questioned._

"_Maybe she didn't think he would. Maybe she thought she could get away or hell he might have even told her that she was safe to lull her into a false sense of security. The point is that none of it matters, ultimately it all ties back to Wo Fat and his attempts to get to me." Steve declared. _

"_So what are you going to do about it?" Chin asked, confident that he wasn't going to like the answer. _

"_I'm going after him and I'm going to end it once and for all. I've got a couple of former SEAL team members who are good friends of mine at the house right now going over the plan of actions that we created." _

"_Wait wait wait, please tell me that you are not seriously considering conducting some super secret mission to try and take this bastard out?" Kono said as she looked at her boss incredulously. Steve just looked at her. "This is insane! I can't believe you'd even consider doing something like this. What does Danny think about it?" _

"_Danny doesn't know about any of this." Steve admitted quietly. Kono's eyes went wide._

"_What?" _

"_Danny knows nothing. He has no idea that Makayla's illness was intentional or that Wo Fat is responsible or who the nanny really was. He's completely in the dark and I did that on purpose. I needed him to be ignorant of what I was doing in case something went wrong. I needed to make sure that the girls wouldn't lose everything." Steve explained. He also knew what his partner was capable of when his children were threatened and Steve couldn't afford to have that kind of emotional instability around because it was only going to get them both in trouble. Steve needed to have a level head…at least until he found and capture the bastard. _

"_I can't believe you kept all of this from him." Kono pouted. _

"_I'm going to explain it all to him when he gets back tomorrow." Steve promised._

"_And you think he'll let you go?" _

It was a question that Steve had been asking himself over and over since that conversation even though he already knew the answer. No, Danny probably wouldn't let him go if he knew what his partner was about to do. Which was why Steve was leaving before he could get the chance.


	28. Heaven Help Me Stop That Plane

**A/n: **Buckle up, it's about to get real interesting.

_Come on rain, pour on down. Flood that runway, shut 'er down. She's in Dallas, waiting on a plane. Don't let her leave, come on rain…don't let your storm clouds break, like my heart if I'm too late. One hour is all I'm asking for. Come on rain, let it pour. Unleash your fury, fill the skies. Let your clouds explode go on and cry your tears of mercy, give me time. Unlock your winds and let 'em go, let your lightning strike your thunder roll. Heaven help me stop that plane, come on rain.—Steve Holy, Come On Rain_

Danny wasn't usually one to pray for rain. He preferred the drier weather, especially after living through one tropical storm or hurricane after another on the shore. Hawaii hadn't been an improvement in the rain department. If anything, it rained twice as much here as it ever did back in Jersey. But today was an exception. Today, Danny was begging for a monsoon.

He and Grace had arrived back in Hawaii this morning, a full six hours ahead of schedule. He hated to cut his time with his oldest short but there was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that was telling him he needed to get home _now._ Grace, the ever understanding child that she was, didn't complain when he told her that they needed to get home and see Steve and Makayla. Danny was restless the entire ten hour flight from Newark to Honolulu and he was pretty sure he had made the flight attendants more than a little suspicious with his behavior but he didn't care. He _had _to get back to Hawaii.

Once they landed, he pulled out his cell phone and tried to call his partner but Steve's cell phone was turned off. He then tried the house phone and again received no answer causing his worry to start to give way to panic. He hailed a cab for the two of them and headed to Rachel's to drop off Grace before heading to the house. On the way he tried Chin and Kono to see if either of them had heard from Steve. Kono seemed to honestly have no idea but Danny got the feeling that Chin knew more than he was letting on.

The first thing Danny noticed when he arrived at the house was that Steve's truck was missing from the driveway. The house was silent as he entered and he instinctually reached for the weapon that wasn't on his hip. There was evidence that something had gone on here while he was gone. The recycling was filled with beer bottles and the sink filled with more dishes than one man and a baby could have possibly used in five days. As Danny made his way through the house two things became apparently clear to him—Steve was gone and so was Makayla—and he wasn't sure which one bothered him more.

After clearing the whole bottom level of the house, Danny headed upstairs to check the bedrooms. The nursery was pristine as usual though he did note that the diaper bag was missing. '_If they had been taken under duress I doubt the kidnappers would have been kind enough to let Steve pack a bag for the baby before they left' _He told himself as he backed out of the room and headed down the hall to the master bedroom where he hoped there would be some kind of clue as to where his partner had disappeared to.

The bed was meticulously made as usual with Steve's military corners on every side. The pillows were fluffed and propped up-two on Danny's side, one on Steve's- with the sheets tucked up just under them. Steve's sleep pants were tossed over the side of the chair on his side of the room and his swim trunks sat in a soggy pile in the bottom of the hamper. Nothing in the room looked out of place expect for the piece of paper that was folded and propped up on Danny's nightstand. He hurried across the room and quickly grabbed the paper which had his name scrawled across it in Steve's carefully structured handwriting. He turned it over and found a letter to him on the other side.

_Danno,_

_By the time you read this letter I'll already be gone and for that I am truly sorry. There are things that I have to do and I know that if I had waited to tell you, you would have tried to stop me. I couldn't let them happen. I'm going to North Korea to find Wo Fat. He crossed a line and has hurt this family for the last time. I know this doesn't make sense to you right now but I promise it will soon. When this is all over, I promise I'll tell you everything. For now though, you can ask Chin. He can tell you what you need to know. I want you to know how sorry I am, Danny. I never wanted things to happen this way. I never wanted to hurt you. I wanted to protect you and the girls. Just remember that I love you._

_Steve_

_p.s. I left Makayla with Kamekona who will then deliver her to Chin or Kono after work…I love you._

Danny crumpled the paper in his hands as his emotions surged inside of him. It all made sense now. This was what had taken over his attention for the past month or so. Steve had gotten a new lead on Wo Fat and his desire for revenge had over taken him. It explained why Jenna was calling and why he seemed so distracted. Danny couldn't help the feelings of hurt that rose up inside of him. Why couldn't Steve have just told him that? Did his partner really think that we wouldn't understand? He then threw it aside as he rubbed his hands over his face. He couldn't deal with his feelings right now. Right now, he needed to figure out a way to find Steve.

Slipping into detective mode, Danny headed downstairs into the office in hopes of finding something that might give him an idea of where to start. He found Steve's cell phone on the desk next to his laptop. _'Okay, so I can't track him through his cell but maybe he at least took his Sat phone with him' _he thought to himself as he pocketed the phone. He started to sift through the papers and files that cluttered the desktop but most of them he recognized as either case files from 5-0 or things related to the evidence in his father's toolbox. The only thing that stuck out to him with a post it note he found stuck underneath the laptop.

_Kaneohe Bay 0800_

Danny figured that this was probably his departure point and time. He looked down at his watch. 7:34am. Kaneohe Bay was at least a 45 minute trip from the house without traffic. Cursing, he hurried out of the room and grabbed the keys to the Camaro. He had to get there before Steve left. It was situations like this that he was grateful that he had splurged and bought himself a sports car. The Camaro roared as he pressed the gas pedal against the floor. _'God if ever there was a time for one of your torrential downpours, this is it.' _Danny thought to himself as he glanced upwards at the partly cloudy sky. He had flipped on the emergency lights on the car (because if this wasn't an emergency then what was?) and was able to make it there in 30 minutes.

As he pulled up to the base, he could see a C130 sitting on the tarmac which he assumed was Steve's ride off the island. He pulled the Camaro up to the gates and thought about driving straight through them but thought better, knowing that the Marines wouldn't think too kindly of that action. So he parked the car just outside the gate and got out just in time to see a group of men heading towards the plane. Steve was one of them.

"Steve!" He yelled out but nobody heard him. "Steven McGarrett!" He tried again. This time Steve heard him. His partner stopped and looked over towards him and even at a distance he could see the surprise written all over the SEAL's face.

"Don't you dare leave me, Steven!" Danny shouted out to him.

Steve just looked at him, his expression turning sad. Another man came over to Steve. He looked over towards Danny and then said something to Steve who just shook his head and started to walk towards the plane.

"Steve!" Danny shouted again but Steve never turned around. Danny looked over to the man who was still standing out on the tarmac. He could see him mouth something to him before turning and following Steve onto the plane.

Danny was frozen. There was nothing he could do expect standing there as watch as the plane took off and disappeared into the fluffy white clouds coating the sky.


	29. Paved with Good Intentions

**A/n: **Poor Danny. His suffering has only just begun. On a side note, does anyone else notice that after we have an episode with a lot of great Steve/Danny interaction they then follow it up with one showing him with Catherine? Like they're trying to reinforce the fact that Steve's straight? If only they'd just embrace McDanno, the show would be so much more amazing. Alright, I'm off my soapbox now.

"_I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you" __Friedrich Nietzsche_

_One of the worst parts about being lied to is knowing you weren't worth the truth-anonymous_

Chin felt horrible as he pulled his bike up into the driveway behind the Camaro. He could hear the worry in Danny's voice when he had called this morning and he just knew that things had gone from bad to worse. He didn't want to tell his friend over the phone what his suspicions were for where Steve had disappeared to. That was a conversation that they needed to have in person. So he had gotten ready and headed over to the house to offer some kind of explanation. Chin knocked on the front door and waited a minute before Danny answered the door with Makayla on his hip. He looked awful. His normally perfectly placed hair was disheveled as if he had been pulling at it and his eyes were red rimmed and puffy like he might have been crying.

"Hey." Danny greeted softly, his voice a little rough, as he stepped aside to let the other man in the house.

"Hey," Chin replied, matching his volume. "How was New York?"

"It was fine. Grace had a great time and it was nice to see my folks again." Danny said over his shoulder as he walked into the living room.

"Good." Chin said as he took a seat on the couch. He watched and waited as Danny placed Makayla on a well worn green blanket on the floor. "Did you find Steve?" He asked. Danny visibly stiffened at the mention of his partner.

"Yeah, I found him alright. He was boarding a military transport up at Kaneohe Bay." Danny replied bitterly.

"Military transport? Why?" Chin asked but he really didn't have to. He already knew why.

"He went to North Korea to find Wo Fat." Danny sighed heavily.

"I was afraid of that." Chin sighed to himself.

"Did you know he was going to this?" Danny asked accusingly as he whipped his head to look at his friend.

"I had a feeling he might." Chin admitted as he gestured for his friend to sit. Danny remained standing.

"Why didn't you try to stop him?" Danny exclaimed.

"Because there is no stopping him. Steve has set his mind on finding and killing Wo Fat and he won't stop until he's dead." Chin declared.

"So you let him go off to North Korea alone to hunt down his nemesis-"

"He's not alone. He's got a team of former SEAL team members with him." He informed. Danny ran a hand through his hair and began to pace the room.

"Why, Chin? Why now? What the hell tripped his trigger that he suddenly had to go off and do something as stupid as this?" He asked.

"Wo Fat went after your family and Steve couldn't let it happen again." Chin started.

"I know all that-" Danny interrupted.

"No, you don't." Chin declared. "You know what happened in the past. You have no idea about present things."

"Cut the cryptic crap, Chin, and tell me what the hell is going on!" Danny shouted.

"Wo Fat went after Makayla to get to Steve." Chin stated.

"What?" All of Danny's breath left him at once as he felt like he'd been sucker punched in the gut. He stumbled back into one of the chairs and looked down at his daughter sitting on the floor in front of him. Something had happened to Makayla and Steve didn't tell him?

"Makayla getting sick was intentional. She was dosed with a super germ created to get her deathly ill. One of the doctors at the hospital figured this out and told Steve. Now she's lying in the hospital after getting her head bashed in in an attempt to keep her quiet. Steve tracked this super bug to a rogue Mossad agent who was working for Wo Fat—and apparently _you. _Your nanny wasn't who you thought she was. And now she's dead because Wo Fat took her out. That's why Steve felt he had to go. He had to stop all of this before they got to you or Grace." Chin explained. Danny just sat there looking stunned.

"You knew all of this…and you didn't think to tell me any of it?" He asked and Chin could tell his friend was hurt.

"Danny-"

"You didn't think I deserved to know that someone had gone after _my child?"_ He continued. "How could you?"

"We were trying to protect you. Steve wanted to keep you safe." Chin responded.

"No, he just wanted to keep me quiet." Danny said, shaking his head. "He even said so in his damn letter. If I knew, I would try to stop him." He added, running a hand over his face. He felt sick to his stomach. All of this was going on underneath his nose and he couldn't figure it out. Some detective he was.

"Look Danny, I know you're upset and you feel betrayed but you have to understand that Steve was trying to do the right thing. He wanted you to be protected if things went wrong someone would still be around to take care of the girls." Chin tried to explain. Danny just shook his head.

"I don't need to be protected. I could have handled anything he had to tell me. I had a right to know all of this from the very beginning. Good intentions or not, Steve still lied to me. And it's going to take a long time for me to get over that."


	30. An Ounce of Peace

**A/n: **Okay, I can't decide whether I should continue along with the way the show went and have Steve be captured by Wo Fat or whether Steve should be the one doing the capturing. Also, should Danny or after him or not? I can really go either way on both of these so you guys let me know what you think should happen. I'm also probably going to break this up into two parts/different stories.

_I have to block out thoughts of you so I don't lose my head. They crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed. Dropping little reels of tape to remind me that I'm alone, playing movies in my head that make a porno feel like home. There's a burning in my pride, a nervous bleeding in my brain. An ounce of peace is all I want for you, will you never call again? And will you never say that you love me just to put it in my face. And will you never try to reach me it is I who wanted space.—Blue October, Hate Me_

"Commander?" Major Matthews asked as he approached the older man.

"I'm not in the Navy anymore, Jack. You can call me Steve." He said dryly as he watched the rain outside of their make shift camp.

They had landed in South Korea a few days ago. Mason had gotten them into the country under the guise of humanitarian aid and they had made camp in an abandoned base camp that Steve had remembered from past missions. The plan was for Jack and Beck to remain at the camp while Steve and Mason went to find Wo Fat. If things went right, they'd capture him and bring him back to base. If things went wrong, then they'd be the ones who were captured. Steve knew Mason didn't have a lot of faith in their plan but the SEAL was more loyal than any dog Steve had ever known.

'_Not more loyal than Danny though' _the little voice in his head spoke.

Steve's gut churned at the thought of his partner. He thought he had been seeing things at first when he saw Danny at the air field. He and Grace weren't supposed to get in from New Jersey until later that afternoon. But somehow Danny was there and calling out to him. _"Don't leave me, Steven!"_ But Steve just shook his head and got on the plane. That might have been the biggest mistake he's ever made.

"What did you need, Jack?" Steve asked, trying to take his mind off of his partner. Those thoughts weren't going to do him any good right now.

"Well Commander—Steve—I can tell that you're having doubts about all of this and I just wanted to tell you that I think you're doing the right thing." Jack declared.

"Oh really?" Steve retorted. "You think what I did to my partner back at the base was 'right'? I lied to him and then walked away without any kind of explanation. Was that 'right'?" He said in an almost accusing tone

"Some people just can't understand what we do and why we do it." Jack shot back.

"No, Danny understands it. He doesn't like it, but he understands it. We were together the last time I was called back to active duty. He hated the fact that something could happen to me and there was nothing he could do about it. That's why I gave up my commission, so that we could have a family and he wouldn't have to worry about me being called off to the middle of god-knows-where on some insane mission. And then I go and pull a stunt like this. I've gone back on all of those promises I made and may have just ruined my marriage all so I could go hunt this bastard down. So have I really done the right thing?" Steve practically ranted as his guilt continued to bubble to the surface. Jack didn't say anything but Steve could hear someone else approaching.

"Jack can you give us a minute?" Mason asked as he appeared over the Marine's shoulder. Jack gave him a nod before he disappeared into the other part of the tent. Steve glanced over his shoulder briefly to look at his friend before turning back to face the rain.

"What do you want Mase?" He asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

The words that Mason had said to him on the tarmac back in Hawaii had been slowly eating at him since they left. _"He doesn't deserve this Steve, at least go tell him you love him." _He couldn't do it. It would have felt too much like he was saying goodbye and that was the one thing he refused to do.

"I want a pysch evaluation for starters." Mason stated. Steve huffed.

"I never said you had to come with me."

"I was talking about you." Mason replied calmly causing Steve to turn around and glare at him. "I need to know you've got your head screwed on straight before I go traipsing through a Korean jungle to find some sociopath with you."

"I'm fine." Steve declared.

"Are you? Because after that little tirade I just heard I'm starting to wonder what this is really about. Are you really doing this to protect your family? Or are you just trying to get back at a guy who's gotten the better of you time after time?" Mason pushed.

"Oh fuck you Mason. I know exactly why I'm here. This bastard killed my parents! He went after my helpless infant daughter in an attempt to get to me! He's attacked my family and I won't stand for it anymore." Steve exclaimed.

"Then why didn't you tell Danny about any of this?" Mason accused.

"Because it's not about him!" He shouted without thinking as he turned towards Mason . All of the air seemed to disappear from the tent as Steve realized what he had just said.

"So this _is_ about you and your vendetta." Mason said quietly. "What happens when this is all over Steve? You think you're just going to go back to your beach side house with Danny and the girls and live happily ever after?"

"I don't need you to psychoanalyze me Mason. That's not why I called you." Steve growled.

"No, you called me because I'm your friend and you trust me. So trust me when I say that I'm not saying these things just to be an asshole. I'm trying to make sure that your motives are clear before we do this. Because if you don't know why you're really doing this, then this doesn't end here. You're going to talk all of this back home with you. Which means that bastard still wins."Mason stated knowingly.

Steve looked in his eyes and could see all the things they had done that still haunted his friend and he knew what Mason was trying to tell him. If he couldn't find closure in killing Wo Fat then it was always going to be with him. It would always be the thing he couldn't let go, the ghost that would always be with him. And Danny and the girls didn't deserve to have to live with any more ghosts than they already do.

"I want to kill him, Mason. I _have _to kill him. I need this all to end so that I can have closure and move on. Danny and the girls deserve that from me." Steve finally admitted with a shrug. Mason just nodded with a little smile.

"Good. Now come on and try to get some sleep cause we're going hunting in the morning."


	31. State of Confusion

**A/n: **So you all want poor Steve to suffer at the hands of Wo Fat. Alright, I can do suffering.

_I'm in a state of confusion, I hope things aren't what they seem. If this is really happening then let me go back to dream you're home.-Travis Tritt, Tell Me I Was Dreaming_

"Wait a minute, so let me get this straight-Steve went to North Korea to hunt down the guy who killed his parents and didn't tell you anything about it?" Casey asked and Danny could hear the confusion in his baby sister's voice. "Why didn't you go with him?"

"Because he didn't give me the chance to." Danny sighed as he tried to balance the phone between his shoulder and his ear.

Danny had called her while he was trying to get some paperwork done in the office. He hadn't heard from Steve in a few days and he needed someone to vent all of his anger and fears to. Normally he would have gone to Chin or Kono but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't just the slightest bit mad at them for keeping such a huge secret from him. Especially since Chin always claimed to be in his corner and have his back. So he called Casey in hopes that she might be able to give him some advice on what he should do with Steve. Though, in hindsight she might not have been the best person to go to for relationship advice.

"That doesn't sound like Steve. I know I don't know him like you do but he just doesn't seem like the type to do something like that, especially to you. He adores you." Casey replied.

"Yeah well, Steve hasn't exactly been himself lately. And while he has changed a lot since we've been together, he has a tendency to revert back to bad habits at times." Danny explained vaguely. There were some things he couldn't and wouldn't tell her because there was nothing good that was going to come out of telling her. Like the fact that Makayla had been targeted.

"Are you going to go after him?" She wondered and he could hear her clattering dishes around in the background.

"I don't even know where exactly he is, Case. And North Korea isn't exactly a place you just want go wandering around in." Danny stated.

"I know that, but I mean, with your job there has to be a way that you can track him, right?" She pointed out making it seem so simple.

"Yeah but Steve has been trained to stay off the radar so he can't be found." Danny answered but it was sounding more like an excuse. The truth was he had been thinking about going after Steve from the moment he watched his plane leave.

"Daniel Williams I have never heard you have such a defeatist attitude before. This is the man you love, the man you are building a family with and you're just going to sit back and do nothing? That's not the brother I know." She said in an almost reprimanding tone.

"I don't know, Casey." Danny replied and his hated the whiny quality in his voice.

"Yes you do, Danny. You know exactly what to do. Just like you knew you had to follow Rachel to Hawaii, you know that you have to follow Steve to the ends of the earth and back because you love him. He's your life and you know you can't truly live without him. So quit pouting about it and go find your man." She chastised.

"When did you get to be so smart?" Danny joked. He couldn't believe he was talking to the same girl—woman—who had just a year ago been such a mess.

"If there's one thing I know about, its men. Doesn't mean I'm any good at picking them but I've had plenty of experience with them." She stated. "Listen, I got to finish setting up things at work but take my advice and go find Steve. You'll regret it if you don't. Call me later, I love you—and give my baby girl a kiss from her mama."

"I will, and we love you too. Be good, and if you can't be good be careful." He reminded as he hung up with her.

Danny thought about what his sister had told him. '_You know you have to follow Steve to the ends of the earth and back because you love him'. _He knew Casey was right but how was he going to do it? He had no idea where to even start looking for his partner. He had been going over Steve's office both at HQ and at the house and so far had come up with nothing useful. He had tried calling Steve's satellite phone but nobody answered. Danny was feeling a way he hadn't felt in a very long time and had never wanted to feel again.

He felt defeated.


	32. Tell Me That You Didn't Say Goodbye

**A/n: **So I've decided that I'm going to break this story up into two different parts and this chapter is going to be the last chapter in this part. Cruel? I know.

_Tell me I was dreaming, that you didn't leave me here to cry. You didn't say you don't love me anymore. It was just my imagination telling lies. Tell me that you didn't say goodbye.-Travis Tritt, Tell Me I Was Dreaming_

Danny couldn't sleep.

It was a suffocatingly hot night for late spring and the air was still, providing little relief. Over the baby monitor, he could hear that even Makayla was having a hard time settling down to sleep because of the heat. Danny's insomnia had less to do with the weather outside and more to do with the storm brewing inside of him.

After talking with his sister the other day, he had decided to try again to see if he could find some kind of clue that would lead him to where Steve was. His office at work was clean so Danny had refocused his efforts to their home office where he had found the initial note. After about an hour of digging, he had found more than he had bargained for.

Steve's desk at home had always been a kind of no trespassing zone for Danny. Not because Steve had made it such but the detective had always just left it alone knowing that his partner often kept things relating to his father's case there. He knew those things were personal and didn't really feel they were any of this business. It was this self imposed distance that Danny would claim was responsible for him never noticing the locked bottom on the desk.

He had searched the surrounding area for a few minutes for the key before realizing that Steve probably kept it on his personal key ring. So he picked the lock which under normal circumstances would have made him hate himself but nothing was normal anymore. Inside the drawer he found a thick manila folder that seemed to be overflowing with papers. After he started to look through them the sense of dread in his stomach only grew.

Someone had done background information on almost everyone he and Steve knew (including Casey. Danny had tried to called her and got no answer which was just one more worry to add to his list) On some of the last few pages, he noticed Steve's handwriting scrawled across the page. A lot had been crossed off but there were still a few legible words.

'_Jenna—compound outside cap city, heavily armed, last seen three days ago'_

It was clear that this was the location that Jenna had given Steve on Wo Fat's location but it sure as hell didn't seem like much to go on. He tried to call her to see if she could give him anymore details but she had nothing more to offer him.

"_I'm so sorry Danny. If I had known what he was going to do with this information I would have told you sooner". _

She had told him but the words just rolled off of him. Danny didn't want platitudes right now. He just wanted to find his partner. Everything else could be dealt with later. He had continued to search the desk but all he had come up with were more papers filled with indecipherable scribbles. He finally gave up and settled in for a restless evening with Makayla where he attempted to watch the Mets game. After he put the baby to bed he had wandered out to the lanai where he sat with a lukewarm beer and a heavy mind.

He knew he had to get to North Korea somehow. Casey was right when she told him that he would go to the ends of the earth for Steve. The problem was that Danny didn't have all of the contacts necessary to pull something like this off the way Steve did. He had to find a way somehow but it just left him feeling a little inadequate. He had just picked up his beer and took a swig of the bitter liquid when his phone began to ring.

"Detective Williams." He answered as in disinterested tone as he swallowed.

"Danny-" Steve's voice came through on the other end and Danny could instantly hear the distress in his partner's voice.

"Steve!" He exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat. "Where are you? What's going on?"

"Danny listen to me-whatever he tells you to do don't listen to him, alright?" Steve warned. Before Danny could ask what he was talking about another voice came on the line.

"Detective Williams, it's nice to speak with you again."

"Wo Fat." Danny growled as he clenched his jaw. "What have you done to him?"

"Steve and I are just having a conversation. It seems he's come a long way just to see me and I would find it rude to turn him away from my home so soon." Wo Fat stated and Danny's heart began to race. He could read between the lines.

"Listen to me you sick son of a bitch. I'm going to find you and when I do, you better pray that all I do is kill you because otherwise you're going to learn a whole new definition of pain." He shouted.

"That's quite a threat." Wo Fat retorted seeming unphased by the outburst.

"That's not a threat-it's a promise. If you hurt Steve, if you damage even one hair on his head I swear to god I'll destroy you." Danny assured. He could hear Steve calling out to him in the background.

"Well then, I guess we'll have the pleasure of meeting again." Wo Fat said having the nerve to almost sound cordial.

"Trust me you bastard, the pleasure will be all mine." Danny corrected as he hung up the phone and slammed it on the table. He closed his eyes and ran his shaking hands through his hair.

"Hold on babe, I'm coming."


End file.
